Yeremenko Viktor V (Tyhr)

Victor lost his father early and later became an orphan along with his five brothers and sisters, as their mother was deprived of parental rights. He graduated from the Smilyan boarding school, worked as a laborer and a security guard, and later enrolled in the Talnivsky Construction and Economics College of the Uman National University of Horticulture. He cared deeply for his relatives, especially helping his grandmother in every way he could. 72-year-old Hanna Oleksandrivna told local journalists: "Vitya never sat idle, he did everything at home — worked in the garden, prepared firewood for winter. Whatever little he earned — he brought it home. He worried about his grandmother, my golden grandson…". With the beginning of the Revolution of Dignity, Victor left his studies and joined the 22nd hundred of the EuroMaidan self-defense (where he was known by the call sign Sniper). He participated in clashes on Hrushevskoho Street, in Mariinsky Park, and on Instytutska Street. Always calm, silent, fair, and straightforward, with a sad look — this is how Victor was remembered by his comrades, who noted his strong build, courage, and resilience in the most dangerous situations. After the annexation of Crimea by Russia, he, along with other "self-defenders" of the 22nd hundred of Maidan, went to the training ground, where he later signed a contract to serve in the military reserve of the National Guard of Ukraine. One of his combat comrades wrote on Facebook: "We are from the same hundred, we went to the battalion together. We often communicated, he told me about himself, but never complained. He wanted to talk only about the positive moments in his life. He was from the boarding school, raised by his grandmother — everything was difficult in his fate…". In two months, as part of the 1st reserve battalion of the National Guard, he was already performing combat missions in the ATO area, at a checkpoint near Sloviansk. No matter how modest the only award he received in his life seemed — the shoulder straps with the insignia of a senior soldier presented to him in formation after the first rotation — he was very proud of this promotion as the first step in his further career. He enjoyed the service, the brotherly atmosphere in the team, and told friends and relatives that he planned to work in law enforcement later: "After the victory, honest people who are not for sale will be needed in the agencies…". He also dreamed of resting with friends in tents by the Dnipro River, dreamed of reconnecting with all his brothers and sisters, and dreamed of starting his own family, which, in his opinion, should have no less than three children. "He even thought of names for them…", his younger sister Ksenia recalled sadly, who still blames herself for having quarreled with Victor when he, despite her and their grandmother's pleas, began to prepare to return to the front after a short leave, explaining: "I can't leave the guys." On the morning of September 10, during his third deployment to the East, reserve senior soldier Yeremenko volunteered to join a group of reservist guardsmen who, along with paratrooper comrades, dared to make a bold raid to the spoil heap that towered near their checkpoint on the outskirts of the city of Vuhledar. The participants of that raid later openly admitted: they made a mistake by relying on intelligence data that turned out to be false — having stumbled upon well-fortified positions of separatist militants, the reconnaissance group had to retreat and evacuate several wounded on armored vehicles. One of them was Victor: having received a severe gunshot wound to the chest, he died in the Central City Hospital of Artemivsk… His comrades avenged this death: they took down the enemy checkpoint and blew up their ammunition depot. Additionally, two enemy snipers were killed in the battle, one of whom most likely shot at Victor… Three days after his death, thousands of residents of the village of Bilozirya in the Cherkasy region and surrounding villages bid farewell to the 21-year-old hero, fulfilling his last wish: "If I die, bury me well…". As Bilozirya village head Volodymyr Mitsuk reported, an exhibition dedicated to Victor Yeremenko was created in the village's history museum. Oleksandr Mikeyshin, the platoon commander: "When we were standing near Debaltseve, the city was almost encircled, there was a small protrusion between Horlivka and Yenakiieve — this is Vuhledar. Thanks to our holding it, it turned into a pocket rather than a ring. We fought there, which I find hard to call heavy battles because it was already a usual thing. We were not hit by Grad missiles; mostly, the fighting was done with small arms. We were in direct contact with the enemy, saw how they changed, how they ate, and they saw us. There was a spoil heap in the city, and once the reconnaissance reported that there was no one on it, but it was literally 2 kilometers from our checkpoints. Our guys went there, and it turned out that there were enemies who had already dug in well. Among our guys who went there, three were wounded and one was killed. The guy, Yerema, was 21 years old; he shouldn't have gone, but at the last moment, he jumped onto the BMD, asking to come with us. The next day, we went to that spoil heap with two BMPs, there were 8 of us, and we smashed them to pieces. We also blew up the enemy ammunition depot. Our sniper took out two enemy snipers, and that's how we avenged Yerema."