Taras O. Rits

Taras Rits, a participant in the deoccupation of Balakliia in Kharkiv Oblast, was killed on September 8, 2022, from wounds sustained the day before during battles with Russian occupiers. The defender was 31 years old. Taras was from Kharkiv. He graduated from the Faculty of Economics at V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University with a degree in Management of Organizations and Administration. During his student years, he traveled to the USA under the Work and Travel program. He worked in Alaska. He was cheerful, hardworking, and skilled with his hands. After graduation, Taras worked various jobs and was involved in business. When the full-scale war began, Taras went to defend Ukraine from the Russian occupiers. He served in a sapper unit. He participated in the counteroffensive on the occupied part of the Kharkiv region. Taras's life was cut short in the battles for the liberation of the territories. "A person with a capital letter, without exaggeration. A very light and at the same time very interesting person. There was always a multitude of topics for conversation with him. One of the easiest to communicate with that I know. He was always ready to help. And he was also very cheerful and versatile. Maybe we didn't communicate so often and much, but I almost never perceived Taras as a classmate. Only as a friend. For our entire group, he was a close person who united us. A real Hero of our time. He gave his life for Ukraine and its future," wrote his classmate Yevhen Lisichkin. Taras is survived by his parents and wife, with whom he was married for 13 years.