Vasyl Z. Denysiuk

Before being drafted for military service during mobilization in August 2014, Vasyl worked as a driver in the mining transport shop of the mining department of PJSC "ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih." Vitaliy Panych, a volunteer: "I remember this crew well, perhaps the youngest in the 17th separate tank brigade; I even have a video recording of a trip on this tank. Near Debaltseve, these three soldiers held out until the last… On February 1, 2015, between the villages of Troitske and Sanzharivka, about 10 units of enemy armored vehicles (tanks, APCs, MT-LBs), several Ural trucks with anti-aircraft guns, and significant infantry forces approached the position defended by the 128th separate mountain infantry brigade (about 60 fighters) and 2 tanks from the 17th tank brigade. Thanks to our artillery — they performed excellently; one armored vehicle and a Ural were left damaged, but 4-5 tanks attacked our position. The crew of junior sergeant Ostashevskyi destroyed one of these tanks when they had already approached closely, and hand-to-hand combat broke out in the trenches. Our tank with the crew was hit by an anti-tank guided missile. The commander's hatch was open, and as a result of the explosion, Oleksii Ostashevskyi was thrown out of the turret about 30 meters away; Kostya Tkachuk and Vasya Denysiuk burned in the vehicle, and only after 45 days, through DNA tests, was it established who was who… The position was managed to be held, and in this battle, a serviceable Russian T-72 tank and a captured — concussed mechanic-driver were seized."