Serhii M. Prokopets (Mekhanik)

Sergeant Serhiy Prokopets (call sign Mechanic) was killed on June 14, 2022, near the village of Knyazivka in the Kherson region. He suffered fatal injuries during a mortar shelling in a battle with the occupiers. The defender was 39 years old. Serhiy was born in the village of Valove (now Sofiivka) in the Dnipropetrovsk region in a family of teachers. In 1999, he graduated with a gold medal from the Valivska school. From 1999 to 2004, he stuwas killed at the Institute of Entrepreneurship "Strategy" (Zhovti Vody) majoring in "Entrepreneurial Economics". In 2013, he enrolled in the Kryvyi Rih National University, choosing the specialty "Mechanical Engineering". After graduating, he stuwas killed at the State University of Economics and Technology, but due to the start of the full-scale invasion, he did not have time to finish it. At the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war, in August 2014, the man voluntarily joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Until September 2015, he participated in the ATO, received the rank of sergeant, and was the commander of the department. In civilian life, Serhiy worked at JSC CB "PrivatBank" and LLC "Vostok-Ruda". In recent years, he held the position of master of the repair equipment department at GM3 of DP "SkhidGZK". On February 25, 2022, at 8:00, Serhiy again voluntarily joined the army. He served in the 60th separate mechanized brigade and held the position of chief sergeant of the platoon. In April 2022, during a phone conversation, his wife realized that Serhiy was in the hospital, although he did not want to tell anyone about it until the end. It turned out that he had received shrapnel wounds and a concussion during a mortar shelling and was in the hospital at the Kryvyi Rih City Hospital No. 17. And already in early May, refusing rehabilitation, he returned to his positions to his comrades. During his lifetime, the military was awarded the medal "For Exemplary Military Service", and posthumously - the Order "For Courage" III degree. "Serhiy was a very talented commander, a true warrior and defender of the Fatherland, always putting his needs and even his health and life second, taking care of his comrades, and often saving their lives. He never complained about the conditions of being on the front line, and in over 3 months of full-scale war, he did not take a single day off and always said that he would rest after our victory and so that we would believe in the Armed Forces. He never said in a phone conversation with his relatives where he was, only said that everything was fine, that he was nearby and defending his region and his home. Serhiy was a true patriot of Ukraine. He lived and worked for the prosperity of his region and gave his life for the independence and freedom of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. In Serhiy's words and actions, there was always selfless love for Ukrainians, for his native land, for his native Ukraine. He taught his daughters this," shared his cousin Olga Zakharova. The hero was buried in the city of Zhovti Vody in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Serhiy left behind his wife Inna, daughters Karina and Kateryna, brother Vladislav, and other relatives. Serhiy's parents was killed in 2023, after the death of their son.