Yevhenii V. Ptashnyk

Sergeant Yevhen Ptashnyk (call sign "Ptakha") died on March 13, 2023, while defending the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, holding back the advance of the occupiers. The warrior was 27 years old. Yevhen was born in the city of Zhytomyr. He graduated from Zhytomyr Ecological Lyceum No. 24. He actively participated in the life of the lyceum, all-Ukrainian competitions, and competitions. He always wanted to be a military man. As a teenager, he was a member of the Zhytomyr School of Young Paratroopers. He practiced wrestling and combat sambo. He competed and won prizes at national competitions. He had an active civic position. He obtained a higher education at the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University in Kharkiv. He also studied at the Odesa Law Academy. He was fond of rock climbing, which was his hobby. He dreamed of opening his own travel agency and taking people to the mountains. He trained in the gym. He loved to run. He covered distances of over 10 kilometers almost every day, even during service when he had free time. He loved to shoot. He often visited the shooting range. He trained his friends in pistol shooting. After university, he voluntarily joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served in the 199th Training Center of the Airborne Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In 2018-2019, as part of the battalion of the operational group "East", he participated in the Joint Forces Operation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. He performed 28 parachute jumps. He was a regular participant and winner of various sports competitions among the teams of the Airborne Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He had good reviews and recommendations from the command. Since 2021, he continued his service in the 8th Special Operations Regiment of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. To improve his professional level, he completed several special courses abroad and in Ukraine. Since January 2022, he continued to fight in the Joint Forces Operation in the Luhansk region. He met the full-scale invasion on the positions. He defended the Donetsk, Sumy, and Kharkiv regions. Then he fought in the Bakhmut direction. For his worthy service, Yevhen was awarded the badge "For Exemplary Military Service" of the III degree, the award pistol "PM", the orders "For Courage" of the III and II degrees (the second one posthumously). The hero was buried at the Smolyansky Military Cemetery in Zhytomyr. Yevhen is survived by his parents and his sister.