Ukrainian defender Serhii Smirnov was killed on the day of his birthday.
He was born on March 25, 1996, in Rivne, and 8 years later, he and his mother moved to Irpin, Kyiv region. There he went to a new school and took up sport. He tried playing football, boxing, wrestling, and rugby. And also he played for his local rugby team. Sergii completed his higher education at the Irpin Tax Academy. He was a jack of all trades: he could fix a car on his own, was a professional gunsmith, and was also an entrepreneur, owning his own cafe.
Serhii believed in God, often attended church and even helped rebuild it. His mother says that her son never refused to help anyone, and he wanted to have a pet dog. But didn`t get a chance…
In the first days of the full-scale Russian invasion, Serhii joined the activists and initiative residents of Kyiv region. He was on duty at checkpoints, combating crime, evacuating residents of Irpin, Bucha, Hostomel, Vorzel, and delivering food and water to those who stayed behind under fire.
His commander recalls how Serhii and his comrades repelled the occupiers’ attacks from Stoyanka, how he covered a sniper while he was working at the position, and how they went behind enemy lines and, on their way back, came across an enemy group of about 12 people.
On March 25, 2022, Serhii turned 26 years old. That morning, his comrades congratulated him – they presented him a guitar, which he learned to play in a few hours. In the afternoon, they had to go on another combat operation, and were already putting on their ammunition when the Russians started shelling. It was so dense that the defenders could not go outside, they had to hide. One of the shells hit the garage where the guys were in the basement and brought down the ceiling and walls right on their heads. Unfortunately, Serhii had no chance to survive – his skull was crushed. Hero’s mother and fiancée Lilia were waiting for him. The girlfriend could not get in touch with her beloved at night to wish him a happy birthday. There was no connection. She wrote a message. But he never read it…