Viktor V. Novikov (Vertolot)

Junior Sergeant Viktor Novikov (call sign Helicopter) was killed on April 28, 2023, while carrying out a combat mission near the settlement of Pivnichne in the Donetsk region. The soldier separated from the group to help a wounded comrade. He managed to stop the critical bleeding and report the coordinates. While the soldiers were waiting for evacuation, they were attacked by an enemy drone. As a result of the ammunition hit, Viktor received a fatal injury. On April 1, he turned 45 years old. Viktor was from the Poltava region. He lived in the city of Lubny. In 2019, he graduated from the Faculty of History of the National Pedagogical University named after Mykhailo Drahomanov. He worked as a history and physical education teacher at Lubny School No. 10. He had an active civic position, was the head of the public council, and the founder of several public organizations and a school martial arts club. In 2014, he became one of the first volunteers of the Azov battalion, took part in the battles for Mariupol, Marinka, and Ilovaisk, where he was wounded. After the start of the full-scale invasion, on February 25, 2022, Viktor joined the ranks of the 147th battalion of the 116th separate brigade of the territorial defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Together with his comrades, he defended the Sumy and Donetsk regions. During his lifetime, Viktor was awarded the medals "For Military Service", "Defender of Mariupol", "For the Defense of the Native State", "25 Years of Independence of Ukraine", "For Sacrifice and Love for Ukraine", "For Participation in the Battles of the Eastern Front", the orders "Knight's Cross of the Volunteer", "For Loyalty to the Oath", and the distinctions "For Humanitarian Participation in the Anti-Terrorist Operation", "For Participation in the Anti-Terrorist Operation". "The story of this person cannot be dissolved in the thickets and fragments of the past. Viktor Novikov lived a life worthy of a hero and accepted, without a doubt, a heroic death. He deserves for Ukraine, for which he fought and was killed, to recognize the significance of his personality," said the son of the fallen soldier. The warrior was buried at the Novakivsky cemetery in Lubny. Viktor is survived by his mother Olga Yakymivna and son Stanislav.