Taras S. Borhun

Junior Sergeant Taras Borhun was killed on May 29, 2024 during an attack by an enemy drone near the village of Velyka Novosilka in the Donetsk region. The defender was 42 years old. Taras was a Kyiv resident. He obtained a higher legal education at the Kyiv National Economic University named after Vadym Hetman. He worked at the Ministry of Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine and in international organizations. He was part of reform support teams and wrote draft laws. In his free time, he played the guitar and wrote poems. He was a master of sports in water polo, played football and squash, and loved animals. During the full-scale war, he held the position of senior operator - gunner of the 3rd division of unmanned aerial vehicles of the unmanned aerial systems platoon of the assault company of military unit T0950 at the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. He was awarded the Order of Courage of the III degree. "An extremely decent, honest, kind, sincere person, who knew how to love and showed it. The country lost a lot, because he was making changes, was a talented lawyer, a decent man and knew how to improve the situation in Ukraine. When the full-scale war started, he was on vacation in Spain, and I with a child just left for Poland. He immediately flew to us, and the next day after our meeting I put him on a bus to Lviv. He had a clear position that he should be in Ukraine and has no right to hide, so that others would protect him while he is safe. I did not persuade him to stay, because it was meaningless, he decided clearly, and I understood his position, I was proud of him. I decided to stay in Poland in order to drive to my husband every month by car, and that's how we spent all these 2 years. In 2023, I got pregnant, we found out that we would have a son. This is his first child. On May 19, 2024, I gave birth to a son, and on May 29, Taras was killed, never having seen him. They will never meet. Taras was extremely smart, kind, the best husband and father for my daughter (his stepdaughter)," said his wife Natalia. The defender was cremated in Kyiv. Taras is survived by his wife, stepdaughter, son and mother.