Yurii O. Ionov (Taksyst)

Yuriy Oleksiyovych Ionov was born on August 30, 1988, in the city of Luhansk. At the age of 4, he was left without a father. His mother, a teacher at Luhansk Pedagogical University, was left alone with two children. The family went through hard times as salaries for university teachers were not paid. At that time, Yuriy's mother was offered a teaching position at one of Moscow's universities, and the family moved to Russia. In 2004, Yuriy returned to Luhansk, where his grandparents lived. There he studied at the Dahl National University of Luhansk College in the specialty "Programming for Electronic Computing and Automated Systems." At the same time, he studied "Management in Economics" by correspondence at the Moscow Institute of Modern Economics, where his mother worked as the head of the psychology department. He graduated from both educational institutions in 2008. After graduation, he returned to Russia and engaged in entrepreneurial activities. In 2013, he returned to Luhansk to replace a new photo in his passport and could not return to Moscow - the Russian authorities banned him from entering the territory of the Russian Federation. Yuriy was greatly impressed by the atmosphere of intimidation and government terror that prevailed in Ukraine at that time. He participated in the protection of Luhansk EuroMaidan activists from thugs and later became an active member of the anti-Russian resistance in Luhansk. He barely escaped death in a skirmish with Russians, after which Russian fighters began looking for him. At the same time, he learned about the creation of the Black Corps, the participation of the volunteer unit in the liberation of Mariupol, and the participation of his acquaintances in the Russian-Ukrainian war. Together with his friends, he decided to join the newly formed Azov Battalion based on the Black Corps. They left for Kyiv under false documents and joined the battalion. After training, he participated in battles with pro-Russian fighters and the Russian army in Donetsk region. He left service in 2016. In civilian life, he became an entrepreneur and had two security companies where veterans of the war with Russia worked. He was a public activist, defending the rights of veterans. He considered his activities as the "fight for Ukrainian Ukraine." After the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, he arrived in Mariupol, where he participated in the city's defense. He was killed on March 24, 2022, during an enemy mortar attack.