Taras V. Onishchuk (Kvas)

Paratrooper Taras Onishchuk (call sign Kvas) died on August 21, 2023, while carrying out a combat mission in the area of the village of Ivanivske in the Donetsk region. The soldier received a fatal explosive fragmentation wound to the chest during enemy artillery shelling. The defender was forever 37 years old. Taras was born and lived in the city of Iziaslav, Khmilnytskyi region. He graduated from the Pluzhne Vocational Agricultural Lyceum as a driver-mechanic. He also obtained the profession of a carpenter at the Khmilnytskyi Vocational School No. 4. He loved working with wood and making various products. He worked as a carpenter at the Iziaslav Forestry Enterprise. During the full-scale Russian invasion, the man joined the defense of his state, replenishing the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served in the 80th Separate Airborne Assault Brigade. He was a driver. "He was the kindest person I knew. Wise, cheerful, sociable, loving, romantic, hardworking, communicative, non-conflictual, fair, honest, beautiful in soul and body. He loved to learn and discover something new," said the fallen soldier's wife, Oksana. The warrior was buried in the Alley of Heroes of the cemetery in his hometown. Taras is survived by his parents, wife, and two children.