Yurii O. Tupkalenko (Kruhlyi)

Sergeant Major Yuriy Tupkalenko (call sign Kruhlyi) was killed on July 26, 2023, in a battle with Russian invaders in the area of the village of Klishchiyivka in the Donetsk region. The defender was 28 years old. Yuriy was from the village of Odnorobivka in the Kharkiv region. He graduated from school and obtained vocational education at a vocational school. After that, in 2014, he went to war and dedicated his life to defending the Motherland. He also managed to study for a year at the Academy of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. Since 2014, he has been defending the border, and later he signed a contract with the 53rd Separate Mechanized Brigade. He fought in the Donetsk region. After the first contract ended, he immediately signed another one with the 92nd Brigade, in which he defended the Kharkiv region from the enemy from the first day of the full-scale invasion. He participated in the battles in the Kupiansk direction. After the liberation of Kupiansk, he went to defend the Luhansk region. He fought for the village of Novoselivske. Since March, he has been in the Bakhmut direction. At this time, he was transferred to the 22nd Separate Battalion. Yuriy was the deputy commander of a combat vehicle, a gunner-operator of a motorized infantry platoon of a motorized infantry company. "Yuriy was courageous, brave, faithful to the oath and the Ukrainian people until the last breath. He honorably fulfilled his duties to protect our state. He is an example of a true Ukrainian, a patriot, a comrade. He gave his young years to the defense of the Motherland. He dreamed of raising his little sons, but, unfortunately, his life was cut short..." - said his wife Varvara. Yuriy was buried in the Alley of Heroes of the cemetery in the city of Zolochiv, Kharkiv region. At home, the defender was awaited by his parents, wife, and two sons. The military was posthumously awarded the medal "Defender of the Fatherland".