Yurii P. Savchyn

48-year-old Lieutenant Colonel Yuriy Savchyn was killed in action on May 4, 2022, while performing a combat mission in the Kharkiv region. The officer was killed by an enemy mine. Yuriy was from the city of Donetsk. He graduated from the Faculty of Law of Kharkiv National Pedagogical University named after H. S. Skovoroda and stu at Kharkiv Military University. He was a career officer and served in an anti-aircraft missile regiment on the S-300. After 20 years of service, in 2011, he retired and worked as a director of a furniture factory. However, when the Russian-Ukrainian war began, Yuriy returned to the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In the rank of major, he took command of an infantry platoon and went to the front. In 2015, he was awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi III degree. After leaving the service, Yuriy tried to return to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. After an unsuccessful attempt to join the SSO, he joined an American private military company and was sent to serve in Afghanistan. He served under contract. Later, he signed a new contract and continued to serve abroad. When the full-scale war began, Yuriy returned to Ukraine. On the second day of the invasion, he joined the 92nd Separate Mechanized Brigade named after Koshovyi Otaman Ivan Sirko. He commanded the use of portable air defense systems "Stinger", covering his comrades-in-arms. In April, Lieutenant Colonel Yuriy Savchyn was awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi II degree. And in May, the officer was killed. "He respected only deeds and people who are able to fight for their principles, because only such people are reliable in battle, to which he was preparing. And often repeated the phrase from his favorite movie - 'Living by conscience is more important than a contract.' He did not make a high career, which he deserved, he lived his life as a Man of Honor," wrote journalist Yuriy Butusov. "A stick went along with us since 2014. Demanding, with a complex character, but we all loved him," wrote volunteer Tetiana Bedniak. Posthumously, Lieutenant Colonel Yuriy Savchyn became a full holder of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi.