Defending Ukraine from Russian invaders, two-time European champion Dmytro Zakharchuk was killed.
When he was a child, he took up swimming in Kyiv sport school. In the late 80s and early 90s, Dmytro twice won the European Finswimming Championships, and in 1992 he became a medallist at the World Championships and got the title of international master of sports.
In addition to swimming, he also had time for boxing, shooting, and studying law. Later, he started working as a security guard and then became the head of security for one of the leading Ukrainian companies.
His friends say that Dmytro was the kind of person who never put up with injustice and always fought for the truth. So, when the Russian invasion began in 2014, he left his prestigious job and went to defend Ukraine. In August of the same year, he joined the 128th Brigade and was a sharpshooter spy. Together with his comrades, he went through the hottest spots of Debaltseve. Once, during another ceasefire, he and his friend decided to count the Grad volleys. The silence wasn`t long – the first shot was fired either at the 7th minute or the 11th minute. And their number was so high that after 100 or so, they gave up counting.
In 2015, Dmytro was awarded the Order ‘For Courage’, III class, and the badge ‘For Exemplary Service’ for personal courage and heroism during the defence of the country. In 2020, he received the brigade’s “Silver Edelweiss” award. He said goodbye to military service and returned to work, but the war did not allow him to leave the army forever. After the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, Dmytro returned to the frontline to his 128th Brigade. He passed on his knowledge to the young soldiers, taught them everything he knew, just to save their lives. However, he could not save his own life…
In October 2022, Dmytro Zakharchuk was killed while performing a combat operation in Kherson region. Russian occupants took the life of a loving husband and father of three…