Stepan D. Pedchenko (Batia)

59-year-old senior sergeant Stepan Pedchenko (call sign Batiya) was killed on August 10, 2022, in the Kherson region. The serviceman was evacuating wounded fighters from the battlefield when a Russian rocket hit the car driven by Stepan. Stepan was born in the village of Makeevka in the Cherkasy region. Later, he moved to live in the neighboring village of Samgorodok. In 1981, he was drafted into the military service. He participated in the war in Afghanistan, where he was the commander of the auto department in the artillery division. Already in independent Ukraine, Stepan joined the Party of Veterans of Afghanistan. In Samgorodok, Stepan is remembered as a sincere patriot. From 2010, the man was elected village head four times. In his free time, he wrote patriotic poems about Ukraine and was a Cossack cornet. "There's nothing to tell about the war, you need to feel it, go through all that pain and horror. And I'll tell you one thing: it doesn't pass. It's terrifying to recall even after decades. The horror called Afghanistan still echoes in my heart like a wound. Nothing is forgotten. And I understand that such a fate awaits my son. He will remember all his life what he had to go through. Memory doesn't erase anything. Unfortunately...", Stepan Pedchenko said in 2014 when his son Sergei went to defend Ukraine from the Russian invasion. And after the start of the full-scale invasion, Stepan himself had to take up arms again. The man joined the 61st separate mechanized steppe brigade and held the position of senior sergeant. "I served with Styopa, but in different companies. He's a good man, a good comrade. He always helped everyone," said his combat brother Sergei Ryabukha. The serviceman was buried on August 13, 2022, in the village of Samgorodok. Stepan left behind a wife, children, and a brother.