Stepan O. Chernoshtan (Shtat)

30-year-old soldier Stepan Chernoshtan (call sign State) was killed on August 31, 2023 near the village of Klishchiyivka in the Donetsk region. He sustained fatal injuries during enemy artillery shelling. Stepan was born in the city of Kalush, Ivano-Frankivsk region. However, he grew up in the city of Shostka in the Sumy region and later settled in Kyiv. He had dreamed of being a builder since childhood. In 2015, he graduated from the Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture with a degree in "Heat and Gas Supply and Ventilation". He worked in the capital as a construction engineer, then was a technician in the Bureau of Technical Inventory and at the "LexStatus" company. He was passionate about anime, collected bus tickets and coins from different countries around the world. He dreamed of driving across all of Ukraine by car. In early May 2023, the man was called up to the ranks of the National Guard of Ukraine. He told his parents only after passing the medical commission: "I know who I will protect. I know what I will fight for." Stepan served in the 4th Brigade of Special Purpose, where he was a grenade launcher. "He dreamed of seeing his son grow up, his copy. The biggest dream - a little daughter, which will not come true. In his school years, he was the president of the school, responsible, purposeful, honest, open. He loved his parents, me and his son very much. He dreamed of living in a free country. Stepan was wholeheartedly devoted to his comrades-in-arms and said: 'I won't leave the guys, without them - nowhere. I'm with them to the end.' His comrades-in-arms still feel his support from the heavens. He will be with us forever," said the widow of the fallen Alyona. "A wonderful son, husband and father. A man of his word, responsible. He was the support and hope for his family. He loved his wife endlessly and adored his little son. He dreamed of his own house, a shepherd dog and a daughter," added his mother Iryna Stepanivna. The hero was buried in the village of Martusivka in the Kyiv region. Stepan is survived by his wife Alyona, son Timofiy, mother Iryna, father Oleksandr, brother Oleksandr, friends, colleagues, and comrades-in-arms. The National Guardsman was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage, Third Degree.