Serhii P. Matviichuk (MES)

Senior Lieutenant Serhii Matviichuk (call sign Mes) was killed on March 17, 2023 during the battle for the city of Vuhledar in the Donetsk region. When the enemy shelled the positions of the Ukrainian defenders, the officer suffered a fatal explosive injury. In a month, on April 21, he would have turned 36 years old. Serhii was a native of the village of Katyuzhanka, Kyiv region. He received higher education at the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine in the specialty "Mechanization of Agriculture and Economics and Entrepreneurship". He worked at a bank as a leading economist. But all his life from a young age he was drawn to technology, so he changed his profession. At first, he went to work as a mechanic, and later became the head of the mechanization department at the Kyiv Energy Construction Company. He loved to travel - he drove almost all over Ukraine by car. He participated in the ATO. With the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, Serhii again took up the defense of the Motherland from the Russian occupiers. He fought in the ranks of the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade named after the Black Zaporozhians. He commanded a platoon. "The man always told me that we just need to wait a little longer: 'We'll work a little more on the integrity and independence of our country, and soon I'll return home with a victory.'" A man of his word, a patriot. He was confident, determined, cheerful, energetic, always smiling, purposeful and erudite. He was the soul of the company and had many friends. He was the first to enter and the last to leave the positions. A true leader, commander, officer. His comrades-in-arms jokingly said that he was already at least a captain for them. Loving, caring, attentive. He was so looking forward to his daughters and loved them so much, but did not have time to enjoy them..." - the officer's wife said. The hero was buried in his native village. At home, his wife Aliona and daughters Emiliia and Elina were waiting for him. Serhii Matviichuk was posthumously awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi of the III degree.