Stepan P. Petrivskyi

In 2009, Stepan, along with his twin brother Ivan, enrolled in the geology faculty of Lviv National University. The following year, they both completed their mandatory military service in the ranks of the 80th Separate Airborne Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He dreamed of obtaining higher education and starting his own family. The group leader, Natalia Oliynyk, recalled: "Stepan was an extraordinarily kind, positive, well-mannered guy… Everyone loved him. He combined masculine strength, courage, simplicity, and even a certain childlike naivety. And he was responsible. As the older brother (he is older in the twinship), he took on the responsibility for Ivan as well. He managed to do everything: study, work, and love…". In May 2014, he joined the BPSMOP "Storm," but, protecting his mother, he did not tell his family that he was fighting in Luhansk. On the eve of his death, having come home on leave, he managed to pass his state exams, receive his bachelor's diploma, and enroll in the sixth year at LNU. In his last entry on his social media page, he wrote: "Do your work honestly, with your soul — and what is yours will come to you. This does not mean that golden mountains will appear tomorrow. You have to be patient, but the truth of these golden words is obscured for the current generation by these golden mountains…". Odesa activists, who accompanied the coffin with Stepan's body to his native village of Sushytsia, were struck by what they saw on August 27 in Lviv region: despite the downpour, the villagers honored their hero with a "living corridor," kneeling with lit candles and lamps…