Serhii O. Sova

35-year-old senior soldier Serhiy Sova was killed in April 2022 near the city of Izium in the Kharkiv region. His wife recognized him by the blue and yellow bracelets and tattoos in photos from the exhumation of bodies from a mass grave in the de-occupied Kharkiv region. She had been searching for her loved one for 5 months. Serhiy was a native and resident of the city of Nikopol in the Dnipropetrovsk region. He had been passionate about sports since childhood, practiced boxing for 10 years, was a candidate for master of sports, and was a champion of Ukraine among juniors. He served in the Air Force of Ukraine during his conscription. After returning, he engaged in dog training and breeding professional breeds. Serhiy was also a dog handler, working with soldiers' dogs. In 2014, he was mobilized into the 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade "Cold Yar." He fought in Donetsk region: in Pisky and near Donetsk airport. After demobilization, he could not stay at home for long, so he soon returned to his comrades for contract service. He served as a senior marksman. Shortly before the full-scale invasion, he was undergoing training to become a combat medic, but did not manage to complete it due to the invasion. After February 24, he urgently went to Kharkiv region to join his comrades. Serhiy kept in touch with his family throughout. However, on April 19, 2022, after a morning conversation with his wife, he disappeared. Comrades told his wife that Serhiy, along with other fighters, was surrounded by the occupiers. There was a battle during which he was killed. The bodies of the Ukrainian fighters could not be retrieved at that time. "I recognized my husband by his numerous tattoos because there were large images on his body — the head of an owl, a skull, and a samurai with Chinese hieroglyphs. Even the tattooed name of our daughter remained on his arm. And the blue and yellow bracelets. Serhiy had not parted with these bracelets since 2014. Back then, when he went to war, our children gave them to him as talismans. Our son had just started the 1st grade, and our daughter was one year old. Around his neck, he also had silver chains with the image of an archangel. As far as I understood, the Russians took them off and took them away... There were also toys from Kinder surprises in Serhiy's uniform pockets, which Elinka often gave him," said Oksana Sova. Serhiy and Oksana were married for 15 years and raised a son and a daughter. Posthumously, Serhiy Sova was awarded the title of "Hero of Ukraine" with the Order of the Golden Star.