Valerii V. Drybas

Soldier Valeriy Drybas was killed on August 18, 2022, in the area of the village of Kurulka in the Kharkiv region. He received a fatal gunshot wound to the head during a battle with the enemy. Two months prior, the defender had turned 40 years old. Valeriy was born and lived in the village of Brodytske in the Cherkasy region. He graduated from the Mokrokalyhir Professional Technical School and obtained the profession of driver-tractor operator. He then served his mandatory military service. In civilian life, he worked at the Katerynopil Elevator in the town of Yerkiv in Cherkasy. In 2021, he went into contract service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served in the 30th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after Prince Konstantin Ostrozhsky. He held the position of mechanic-driver of a combat vehicle. He carried out combat missions in the area of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO). He faced the full-scale invasion alongside his comrades at the front and continued to fight against the occupiers. "Valeriy was a devoted son of his country. He went to defend us and our Motherland on May 26, 2021. From the first days of the full-scale war, he was on the front lines. During the offensive on August 18, 2022, when the order to retreat was given, he did not get scared but stood in defense until his last breath. A deep bow to the Hero, glory to the Hero," said his sister Oksana Melnyk. Valeriy was buried in his native village. He is survived by his mother, brother, two daughters, other relatives, friends, and comrades. The soldier was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage of the III degree.