A hero was born on February 18, 1985, in Ivano-Frankivsk. From the very beginning, fate prepared Roman Kornuta for a life where strength and freedom would become his guiding values. Since childhood, sport had been his element. Muay Thai and kickboxing shaped his will, discipline, and hunger for victory. Founder of Thai kickboxing in Ivano-Frankivsk, a multiple tournament participant, a man who inspired others by his example — for his friends and students, he was more than just an athlete: he was a mentor, a leader, the soul of the team.
In 2023, Roman earned his master’s degree in Physical Culture and Sports at Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University. He dreamed of training children — teaching them courage, endurance, love for life, and love for their homeland. But the war that came to Ukrainian soil did not allow him to fulfill that dream.
Roman volunteered for the front back in 2014, joining the Aidar Battalion. His call sign was Mazepa — and it suited him perfectly: free, proud, indomitable. That’s how his comrades remembered him. “He was a Cossack-sorcerer, a true leader who never hid behind others’ backs,” they said of him.
From the first days of the full-scale invasion, Roman once again stood in defense of his country. A volunteer, senior soldier of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, fighter of military unit A2772 — he was constantly on the front line, in the hottest zones of Donetsk region. He never boasted about his missions, yet he always took on the most difficult tasks. His strength, composure, and athlete’s reflexes more than once saved his brothers-in-arms.
On the night of February 14, 2024, near Avdiivka, Roman Kornuta’s heart stopped beating. He died as he had lived — bravely, holding his position to his last breath.
His friends — both athletes and comrades-in-arms — say Roman was a man impossible to forget. In him were joined the strength of a warrior and the kindness of a teacher, the will of iron and a radiant smile.
Eternal memory to the Hero.