Serhii V. Miahkov

Soldier Serhiy Myahkov died on May 17, 2022, during a Russian missile strike on the village of Desna in the Chernihiv region. The serviceman was 50 years old. Serhiy was born in the village of Nekrasivka in Crimea. He obtained a profession as a tractor driver at a local vocational school. He then moved to the Chernihiv region. He graduated from the Chernihiv vocational school and received training as a welder. He got a job as a tractor driver in the village of Naumivka, where he settled down. There he got married and started a family. In 2015-2016, he participated in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) on mobilization. Since 2018, he served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine under contract. He took part in the Joint Forces Operation (JFO). Later, he was discharged from service due to health reasons. On the first day of the full-scale invasion, Serhiy packed his things and went to the military enlistment office. In April, he was called up for service and held the position of mechanic-driver. He was at the training center "Desna" in the Chernihiv region. On May 16, the man last communicated with his relatives. The next day, he died. However, they could only identify his body at the end of October. "On May 17, it all started in the morning, phone calls from my sister, mom, best friend, and godmother. They talk about the missile strike on Desna, dad isn't answering the phone. We start calling hospitals, morgues... The rubble is being cleared, your father is not on any of the lists, maybe he's lying somewhere in a coma, wait... But how can we wait, patience is running out... We connect to the power of the internet, groups searching for the missing, Facebook, Instagram... A call... 'Good day, your father is on the list of unidentified, do a DNA test...' My sister and I rush to do the test, and all we can do is wait... But we don't stop, we continue searching, holding on to hope. And so five months passed… On October 27, I received the DNA result. All these months we were preparing for this, but it turned out to be not so simple; anxiety took over, fear, the realization that it's all over, dad is no more... Rest in peace, dad, we miss you so much and love you endlessly," described the horror that the family endured during months of waiting and searching, by his daughter Tetiana. On October 29, Serhiy was buried in the village of Naumivka in the Chernihiv region. The defender is survived by his wife and three daughters.