Дмитрій Романович. Река

Senior Sergeant Dmytro Rika (call sign Ice) died on February 2, 2023 in a hospital in Dnipro from a wound received on January 28 in a battle near Vuhledar in the Donetsk region. The defender came under enemy mortar fire. The warrior was forever 27 years old. Dmytro was born in the village of Hrozyne, Zhytomyr region. In 2011, he entered the Zhytomyr Medical Institute, where he obtained the profession of a dental technician. In November 2015, he went to military service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In 2019, he participated in the Joint Forces Operation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, for which he was awarded the medal "Veteran of the War" and received the status of a participant in hostilities. In November 2020, he was discharged, as he needed rehabilitation. In his free time, he loved fishing and repairing cars. He was fond of football and computer games. With the start of the full-scale war, the man returned to the Armed Forces to defend his country again. He fought in the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade named after the Black Zaporozhians. He was a machine gunner. "On the first day of the full-scale war, Dima was sent home, told that people were not needed yet. Then one day the man calls and says that a summons was left at his door (I still don't know if that summons was real) and that he is going to undergo a medical examination the next day. He said he doesn't want his son to hide in the basements, and for this he has to defend us there. He told his mother: I want you to be proud of me and walk with your head held high. He wanted to serve in the 72nd Brigade. Right on the spot, he signed up as a storm trooper. A month before the tragedy, on New Year's Eve, we with our son came to see Dima in Selidove. Then Dima handed me a flag, all signed by his comrades-in-arms. Then his comrades told me how they signed it, how he wanted everyone to leave a memory of themselves. The man had a lot of friends. He tried to help everyone. Another interesting fact: on the street, he always paid attention to little boys, greeted each one by hand, like an adult. He said, it doesn't take anything away from me, and the children are pleased that they are noticed. He was a wonderful dad. At home, he spent a lot of time with his son. And although our son was 4 years old when his father passed away, he still remembers how his father played with him. They had their own "guy days" and went to their own "hangouts" together. And I had time to rest... The day before the fatal injury, he wrote to me that his guys were in great trouble. They are out of contact... Then they sent me the man's duffel bag, on which he wrote that in case of 200 (killed in action), send the things to the address. The comrades-in-arms said that he signed that duffel bag just before the last departure. So, I think he knew perfectly well where he was going, and still went. Because his guys were there. Then the comrades-in-arms wrote to me that he showed himself there at his best. That with him it was not scary to go even to the very hell. He was a courageous, brave, determined, desperate man and a reliable comrade," the fallen warrior's wife said. The hero was buried in his native village. He is survived by his mother Natalia Mykhailivna, wife Natalia and son Artem. The military man was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage of the III degree.