Valerii P. Nekhai

49-year-old soldier Valeriy Nekhai was killed on August 18, 2022 during enemy artillery shelling near the village of Oleksandrivka in the Kherson region. For over a year, the defender was considered missing. Valeriy was originally from the city of Artsyz in the Odesa region. He graduated from the Faculty of Political Science at Odesa National University named after Ilya Mechnikov. In peacetime, he worked at LLC "TIS-Mindobryva" as a loader operator. During the full-scale war, he defended the country in the ranks of the 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade. He was the gunner of the 1st mechanized platoon of the 2nd mechanized company of the 1st mechanized battalion. "My father was not like everyone else. He was a very deep person, could support, listen and help. He had his own opinion on everything and was not ashamed to express it, he didn't care what people would say, he lived here and now. Dad didn't wait for any holiday, he created it himself. He was not just a dad, but the best friend," said his daughter Viktoria. The defender was buried in the city of Yuzhne in the Odesa region. Valeriy is survived by his mother, daughter and grandchildren. The warrior was posthumously awarded the honorary distinction "For Merits to the Yuzhne City Territorial Community".