Yevhen Kolesnychenko, a handball champion of Ukraine, died in the battles on the Eastern front.
Yevhen served in an assault unit. On February 24, he joined the Kyiv Territorial Defense and later found himself on the frontlines at the hottest points of the conflict.
He was a master of sports in handball, playing for Donetsk’s “Shakhtar” and was a national champion and medalist in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Yevhen and his wife dreamed of buying a motorhome, but Russia shattered their dreams. He left behind his wife Yevheniya and three children.
His daughter wrote in a school essay at the end of October:
“I want to tell you about my contemporary hero. My hero understands and supports me like no one else. And this hero is my dad. He went to war on February 24, 2022. My hero is now in the East. He’s a sniper. Before the war, my dad worked a regular job, but now he’s a soldier defending my home and me. In fourth grade, my hero was Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko. I admired his courage and bravery. But I realized that my hero is my dad. His name is Yevhen Kolesnychenko. I’ll be honest, all Ukrainian soldiers are heroes. But my dad is the best, there’s no one like him. I love him so much and appreciate him. I can’t wait to see him again.”