Yurii M. Sahaidak (Batia)

Born on February 9, 1969, in the village of Babaykivka, Tsarychanskyi district, Dnipropetrovsk region. Completed 8 grades of secondary school in the village of Babaykivka, then attended vocational technical school No. 79 in the urban-type settlement of Petrykivka, Dnipropetrovsk region, specializing as a "mechanizer." From 1987 to 1990, he served in the Soviet Navy. He served in the Pacific Fleet. He professionally engaged in kettlebell sport and became a candidate for master of sports of the USSR. At the All-Union competitions in the urban-type settlement of Bilovodsk, Luhansk region, he was among the top three prize winners. During his military service in 1988, he became the champion of the Pacific Fleet in kettlebell sport. He worked as a motorist at a service station in the village of Ivano-Yaryzivka, Tsarychanskyi district, Dnipropetrovsk region, in the police guarding the Dnipro-Donbas canal, and in recent years at a factory in the city of Dnipropetrovsk (now Dnipro). In the spring of 2014, he was mobilized into the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served as a shooter-sanitizer in the 39th battalion of territorial defense "Dnipro-2" of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (military unit field post V1603). From the summer of 2014, he participated in the anti-terrorist operation in eastern Ukraine. Call sign "Batya." In August 2014, he participated in the battles for the city of Ilovaisk in Donetsk region. On August 24, 2014, Sergeant Sahaydak was killed at a checkpoint near the village of Novodvirske, Donetsk city council, in the area of the city of Mospyne - the urban-type settlement of Novyi Svit, Starobeshivskyi district, Donetsk region, during the offensive of Russian troops and separatist groups. Since then, he was considered missing in action. He was buried near the checkpoint where he died. On June 11, 2015, the body of Yurii Sahaydak was exhumed by the "Evacuation-200" mission ("Black Tulip"). Along with his body was a piece of yellow tape that read "Sahaydak Yu.M." He was finally identified through DNA testing. On September 25, 2015, he was reburied at the cemetery of the village of Novostroivka, Tsarychanskyi district, Dnipropetrovsk region.