Taras I. Chaika (Khimik)

Taras Ihorovych Chaika was born on February 10, 1993, in the village of Sokil, Volyn region. He studied at the Lviv Scientific Lyceum No. 1 named after B.-I. Antonych. After graduating from school in 2010, he entered the Lviv National University of Environmental Management, majoring in "Accounting and Audit", and in 2014-2016 he studied in the master's program at this university. He also received a master's degree from the Interregional Academy of Personnel Management in the specialty "Law". In 2014, he graduated from the military department of the National Academy of Land Forces named after Hetman Petro Sahaidachny and received the rank of junior lieutenant. He worked as an accountant, lawyer, arbitration manager, and mediator. In 2020, he received a specialization in the field of "Alternative Dispute Resolution". In 2021, he received a certificate of the right to carry out the activities of an arbitration manager. He was fond of hunting and fishing, and was a member of the Lviv City and Zolochiv District organizations of the Ukrainian Society of Hunters and Fishermen. In the first days of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, he went to war as a volunteer. He served in the ranks of the 125th Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, holding the position of commander of a separate reconnaissance platoon. On April 16, 2022, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant. He died on November 2, 2022, during the performance of a combat mission in the Donetsk region. The car in which Taras was traveling came under tank fire. Lieutenant Taras Chaika received a severe shrapnel wound, but managed to steer the car in the opposite direction from the shelling, thereby saving the lives of the crew. Taras Chaika died from the injuries he received. He was buried at the Lychakiv Military Cemetery in Lviv. The deceased left behind a mother, wife, daughter, and twin brother.