Yaroslav B. Yunyk (Yarik)

36-year-old senior warrant officer Yaroslav Yunyk (call sign Yarik) was killed on September 28, 2022, during an assault in the Lyman direction of Donetsk region. The defender sustained fatal injuries as a result of enemy mortar shelling. Yaroslav was born in Lviv and graduated from the National University of "Lviv Polytechnic." He served in the National Guard of Ukraine since 2006 and participated in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO). After serving more than 13 years, he was discharged. He helped his wife with volunteer work. He worked as a builder and had his own team with which he did repairs. He loved playing the guitar, traveling, adored the mountains, and spending time with his family, never missing a moment to be with them. In his free time, he also went fishing, taking his daughter with him. After the onset of the full-scale invasion, Yarik could not remain on the sidelines; he went to the military enlistment office for a long time and eventually went to war as part of the volunteer battalion "Carpathian Sich." He told his family that his place was there, so they would not be threatened. "I want to say so much about him, but tears choke me... There are no men like him, nor people with such a sincere heart. My husband is a true hero... Always sincere, kind, and cheerful," said his wife Anna. "Brave, always cheerful, and full of life. He loved his family and talked a lot about them. He went to war to defend his own country as a true patriot. A reliable friend, a good comrade, and a great warrior. He was killed on the battlefield," his comrades recounted. The serviceman was buried at the Mars Field of Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv. Yaroslav is survived by his parents, brother, wife, and daughter.