Serhii M. Doroshenko (Dotsent)

48-year-old Senior Sergeant Serhii Doroshenko (call sign Professor) was killed in the hospital on November 12, 2022. A day earlier, he sustained a mine-explosive injury while performing a combat mission near the village of Chkalove in the Kherson region. Doctors fought for his life until the end. Serhii was born in the village of Novyi Starodub, Kirovohrad region. He studied at the local school. Then he graduated from Znamianka Vocational School No. 12 and Oleksandriia Pedagogical Professional College named after Vasyl Sukhomlynskyi. He worked as an electrician at the Petrivskyi quarry. He was interested in technology and could repair everything. He was particularly passionate about mopeds, motorcycles, and scooters. Since 2014, he fought in the ATO in Donbas as part of the 30th Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He was a BMP-1 gunner. Later, he returned to civilian life. On the first day of the full-scale invasion, the man again took up the defense of Ukraine. This time he served in the 57th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade named after Koshovy Otaman Kostia Hordiienko. He held the position of company sergeant major. "Serhii was one of those who went ahead, covering the rear. People took him as an example, followed him, and trusted him. He never hesitated in the face of danger. He acted thoughtfully and decisively in every step. Comrades felt safe when their "Professor", their "Mykolaiovych" was with them. They were confident that he would lead them out. He would lay down his bones, but he would lead them out. But there were losses, because, as he said, there are no casualties in war. And he took each loss very hard, painfully, considering it solely his own negligence. He was not afraid of work, he did everything properly. If they needed to dig trenches, he took it and dug, always over-insured so as not to let his guys down. When I, learning where they were transferred, looked with tear-filled eyes, he reassured: "It's our land there too, everything will be fine, don't worry." Serhii told his comrade when he went to war: "Brother, this is what I know how to do." He found himself there and renounced himself for something greater. He is proud of, he is remembered," says the close friend of the fallen. "He was a father to us, nothing was decided without him, no one was afraid to go forward with him. Mykolaiovych remains unbroken and invincible for us. This is a person to whom you could turn with any question, he would always listen and give good advice. With this person, you can go into battle. We miss him very much. He always stood up for his own! Brave, fair... He loved life," his comrades-in-arms recall. Serhii was buried in his native village. At home, his daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter were waiting for him.