Taras A. Kharuk (Aizek)

Lieutenant of the medical service Taras Haruk (call sign Isaac) was killed on August 30, 2022, during the shelling of Kharkiv. In the morning, the officer took the fighters to the hospital for examination. After leaving the hospital, he went to the nearby cafe with a nurse for coffee. They were covered by artillery fire there. Taras was killed immediately. Only a week was left before his 27th birthday. Taras was born in the city of Novovolynsk, Volyn region. He graduated from the Danylo Halytsky Lviv Medical University and the Ukrainian Military Medical Academy. He received the profession of a general practitioner, although he very much dreamed of becoming a military surgeon in the future, so he constantly ran to the "Hospitaliers" when he was on the front line. Taras' love for medicine could only be compared with his love for music. He played the guitar and adored old rock bands: Metallica, Megadeth, Judas Priest, Motorhead, Black Sabbath, and Pink Floyd. He also always dreamed of building his own guitar workshop, where he wanted to recreate Eddie Van Halen's homemade guitar. Taras loved traveling around Ukraine, especially when he was behind the wheel. With him, the car turned into the safest place on Earth, so ideally he drove the car. His greatest desire was to see the most beautiful route according to Top Gear - Trans Fagaras in Romania. He loved milk porridge, Napoleon cake, Labradors, and strong coffee. And also - riding bicycles and walking along the terricones in his city or exploring them. "He was the smartest and kindest person I knew. Not because he's no longer there, but because he really was like that. He knew everything about history, hated the "Soviet Union", adored documentary films about World War I. He understood technology, could do everything with his own hands. He always helped his parents and grandparents. He couldn't be angry and never offended loved ones. Once he came to my roommate to give her injections, and he always treated all my illnesses. Because he was the kind of person you trusted. You know that you are in good hands," - this is how his beloved girlfriend Zhanna describes the guy. The full-scale war caught Taras in Kyiv, where he lived with his beloved and still stu at the military academy. However, all students were urgently expelled, and the guy went to save lives on the front line. He joined the 14th separate mechanized brigade named after Prince Roman. He was the head of the treatment department of the medical company and did what he loved and did best - saved. "We've been together since we were 19. But he always hesitated with the engagement. He wanted it to be very beautiful. With an orchestra and he had to be in a parade uniform... I found the ring 1.5 months after his death. I had already lost hope of seeing it and didn't believe that he was somewhere and heard me. But I asked him at the grave to return my ring, and he did it, even in heaven. I found it in the pocket of his favorite backpack. It was extremely beautiful, but small in size. That was the whole Taras. All his charm and peculiarity. The first gift he gave me was a shirt that was a little tight on me. And his last gift was also a little small. For me, it's symbolic. Because he always considered me a little girl, smaller than I am. And I could rely on him, because I knew that he would never let me down. I never told him that he was the only person in the whole world from whom I would want to have children. Those children would be the most wonderful and kindest kids. Because such a father couldn't be otherwise. I know that he would be the best dad in the world," - Zhanna said. The officer was buried in his hometown. Taras left behind his parents, younger sister, and fiancée. Posthumously, Lieutenant Taras Haruk was awarded the honorary breastplate "Cross of the Brave".