Taras Stakhiv, known affectionately as Taratulka by his loved ones, was an 18-year-old athlete with the Ivano-Frankivsk Zen-Do-Kai Karate Federation. He was a champion and medalist at regional and national competitions and a black belt holder.
Just three days before his 19th birthday, Taras was killed while performing a combat mission near Bakhmut. He joined the Ukrainian Armed Forces (Azov) in June 2022 under the call sign “Stakh.” In October, he joined the “Charter” unit, where he served as an assistant grenade launcher.
From the first days of the war, he volunteered and raised funds for the Ukrainian military, expressing his deep hatred for the Russians.
Taras was a student at Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, studying foreign languages.
Upon the war’s onset, he remarked: “I won’t be at university until the next parade in Red Square…”