Taras O. Lavriv (Dzhura)

Taras Lavriv, a fighter of the Azov Regiment, was killed in action on April 10, 2022, during the defense of Mariupol, Donetsk region. The defender was 32 years old. Taras was born in Dolyna, Ivano-Frankivsk region. He was a member of "Plast". Since his youth, he was interested in art and was a participant in the regional art camp "Metamorphoses". He graduated from the Lviv State College of Decorative and Applied Arts named after Ivan Trush and the Lviv National Academy of Arts. He was involved in music, playing the guitar in the band "Zaliznyi Khrest". He founded a school of Aikido and a school of combat hopak in his hometown, where he also worked as a coach. He was a teacher and director of the Dolyna Children's Art School. From the first days of the full-scale Russian invasion, Taras went to Kyiv to join the ranks of the special purpose unit of the National Guard of Ukraine "Azov". He participated in the defense of Kyiv region and later went to Donetsk region to defend Mariupol. He from a gunshot wound. The search for his body lasted for half a year. In the middle of October, his wife Yulia reported that she had identified the body by the tattoos that she had made herself. On October 25, the cremation of the remains took place at the Kyiv Crematorium. "Heroically in battle for Ukraine, our 'iron brother' - Taras Lavriv . A true patriot-Ukrainocentrist, nationalist, and worthy son of Ukraine! Thank you, Brother, for walking side by side! You are forever in our hearts! Condolences to the family and loved ones... Eternal memory to the Glorious Knight," wrote the frontman of the band "Zaliznyi Khrest" Bohdan Zhylia. Taras is survived by his mother, wife, and two daughters.