After being seriously wounded, he returned to the front line near Bakhmut, where he fought his last battle. In January 2023, chess player Mykhailo Safronov was killed by the Russian occupiers.
He was born on November 21, 1995, in Kramatorsk. He studied at local school № 16 and graduated from the Donbas State Engineering Academy, “Lifting-transport machinery” department. At the same time, Mykhailo played chess, was a candidate for master of sports, taught children and organized competitions. He was also fond of running and played football for over 10 years. He had many dreams, and he enrolled in a master’s program, but the war prevented him from realizing his plans…
After the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, Mykhailo became a volunteer, and then joined the army. He served in the “Kholodny Yar” brigade. But on August 30, 2022, he ironically wrote on his Facebook page: “The main thing is a good start” and added a photo from the hospital. In the post, he said that after a month and a half of training, he was sent to the front line near Bakhmut. On the first or second day there, he was seriously wounded. He was unconscious for three days and was hospitalized in Kyiv. Later Mykhailo clarified: “An 8 mm fragment went through the upper left part of my body. It pierced my heart and remained in my stomach. There is no danger from it. My heart was stitched up.” He underwent more than one operation, spent a lot of time in the hospital and constantly thanked the doctors for his recovery. After three and a half months, he came home to Kramatorsk for the first time since his injury and immediately got on his bike to travel around his hometown. Gradually, he returned to running and even organized an online run called “Kramatorsk Mile” with participants from different regions of Ukraine, together with athletes from Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. In December, he organized a chess tournament called “Hrudnevi skachky”.
All this time Mykhailo was undergoing medical examinations to be allowed to return to the front. In January 2023, he returned to Bakhmut outskirts. But he did not want to give up organizing tournaments. While in the army, he helped organize the “Light in Your Heart” charity race to support the elderly, children and pets who stayed in towns and villages in the frontline zone. The event was scheduled to start on January 24, but the day before, on January 23, 2023, Mykhailo died. He was killed in a battle near Bakhmut, receiving a shrapnel wound to the temple…
«The Safronov Mile» race is held annually in memory of the Hero.