Roman Krukhovskyi, a sports coach, teacher, and former mayor of Tlumach in Ivano-Frankivsk region.
He graduated from the Physical Education and Sports College in Ivano-Frankivsk and from Lviv State University. After obtaining his higher education, he spent 20 years as a coach, many of them heading the sports commission and chairing the department of strength sports. He was a Master of Sports of Ukraine in Greco-Roman wrestling.
Roman loved working with children, passing on all his knowledge and skills, and taking great joy in their achievements. Among his pupils were many champions. His sons also followed his footsteps in sports—18-year-old Andriy graduated from a physical education college specializing in weightlifting, and younger son Ihor, aged 14, is passionate about boxing.
Roman deeply loved sports. As mayor, he initiated several projects, bringing many investors to the city. Tlumach saw the creation of numerous sports fields with artificial turf, a skate and bike park (one of the best in Ivano-Frankivsk region), and the improvement of the city lake and park with new fitness equipment.
He organized competitions and tournaments in various sports between teams from other regions. He was always hard at work, and his family rarely saw him even on weekends.
On the first day of the war, he went to the military recruitment office. Although he had never served in the army and didn’t even have a military ID, he told his wife Iryna: “We have two sons, and I don’t want to see the day they go to war. So, I’ll go instead.”
On February 27, he was enlisted in the Territorial Defense in Tlumach. By early May, his unit was transferred to the 10th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade in Kolomyia.
On July 26, his unit went to the frontlines. On July 29, he would have turned 42. He spent his last birthday in the very heart of hell. On August 1 at 19:00, he made his final phone call to his wife: “The guys went ahead, and we’re following them. Don’t worry, we may lose contact, but I’ll call you back. I love you.” That was their last conversation.
On August 2, at 14:09, Roman’s brother called Iryna to inform her that Roman had been killed.
Roman Krukhovskyi died on August 2 during an assault on the village of Kodema in Bakhmut district, Donetsk region.