An army of civilians

Please read this post entirely. Think of one or two defenders that you relate to, maybe you liked what they liked. If you have the opportunity, talk about them with another person. This post is to remember them.

Each day I read the obituaries of the fallen heroes who are being buried in Lviv. I named this post an army of civilians for a simple reason – most of them were civilians before 2022. I’ve decided to write this post after reading the stories of the 2 fallen heroes from 6 September. They joined the army to defend their country, that is very different than someone who joins the army to make a career. There is nothing wrong with that, of course. I just wanted to show that these people were civilians who were attacked, to keep that in mind when you hear a “civilian target” or a “military target” in relation to russia’s war on Ukraine. There are no legitimate targets for the russians to attack in Ukraine, none.

Some days there are no funerals. The local council is sharing their pictures and a few details about them. So I will do that, share their first name, their profession, and something about them, if it was shared by the council. I did not include their full name, dates of birth and death, and neither what family they left behind. I also didn’t include where they were fighting because I thought it will be a long post if I do, my readers might not know the specific locations anyway. For me, reading the directions they served in, knowing someone from that place or being from where my cat was, added a layer of grief to an otherwise very sad list.
ATO means Anti-Terrorist Operation, how the russian invasion of 2014 was called. Also, pay attention to the dates, the fallen soldiers buried in 2025 who died in other years, it means that their bodies were just now recovered, most likely in exchanges.

Here are the people buried in September in Lviv:
1 September – Євген (1967 – 2025) was a soldier.
Yevhen was part of the Ukrainian peacekeeping contingent in Kosovo under NATO’s leadership. Was part of ATO from 2014 to 2017. He was awarded the honours of the Minister of Defence of Ukraine and the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

& Михайло (1974 – 2024) was an economist at PrivatBank.
Mykhaylo was a historian who studied at the Ivan Franko Lviv National University.

2 September – Василь (1970 – 2025) was as a security guard, and previously worked in constructions.
Vasylʹ played volleyball, judo, and football.

3 September – Юрій (1978 – 2025) was a manager of auto parts sales.
Yuriy trained as an auto mechanic.

& Андрій (1976 – 2025) was a security guard.
Andriy trained as an auto mechanic.

& Петро (1968 – 2024) was working in agriculture.
Petro joined the army in 2022.

4 September – Роман (1976 – 2025) was Head of Production at a private company.
He graduated from music school in violin. He also graduated from the National University Lviv Polytechnic with a degree in Electrical Engineering.
Roman joined the army in 2022.

& Павло (1993 – 2025) was a welder.
Pavlo joined the army in 2024.

5 September – Юрій (1988 – 2025) was a kit maker, sales consultant of household appliances and electronics, courier.
He was trained in woodworking.
Yuriy joined the army in 2022.

& Богдан (1995 – 2025) was a soldier.
Bohdan was a member of ATO. He re-joined the army in 2023.

6 September – Микола (1969 – 2025) was a locksmith-plumber in a school, after retiring from working in prisons.
Mykola loved fishing, driving, and repairing cars. His special vocation was fatherhood – he was the foster carer of 30 children, adopted four and had two children of his own.

& Артем (2003 – 2025) was working in robotics.
Artem liked boxing. He was an orphan, adopted in Italy, where he lived and worked. He returned in Ukraine in 2022, first as a civilian volunteer, before joining the army.

7 September

8 September – Віктор (1987 – 2025) was a tiler.
Victor liked poetry and wrote poems.

9 September

10 September – Віталій (1999 – 2025) was a freelancer, providing technical services for mobile communication.
Vitaliy loved his job and everything that was related to technology.

& Михайло (1981 – 2023) was a driver and a construction worker.
He was into sports, loved athletics and cars.
Mykhaylo was a member of ATO. He re-joined the army in 2022. He was awarded the medal “For injuries”, the breast badge “ATO Participant”, and commemorative medals from the command.

& Андрій (1987 – 2025) was a carpenter-restorer.
He liked Japanese anime and fishing.
Andriy joined the army in 2022. He was awarded with the War veteran medal.

& Валерій (1972 – 2025) was a Major in the Military Air Force of Ukraine.
He loved dogs, design and styling of repair work, and he was a devoted family man.
Valeriy re-joined the army in 2022, in the Corps of the Reserve Ground Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He was awarded the designation of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine – the breastplate “Military Honor Cross”.

11 September

12 September – Сергій (1988 – 2025) was doing car glass replacements and repairs.
Serhiy lived in Lviv and joined the army this year.

13 September – Андрій (1998 – 2025) was an actor.
He graduated Ivan Franko’s Lviv National University with a degree in acting. He worked in the Lviv Academic Theatre and in the Lviv Academic Theatre or Pop miniatures.
Andriy joined the army in 2022. He was awarded the medals “Golden Cross” and “Together to Victory”, “Veteran of the War”, as well as the breast badge “Participant in combat”.

This is a video Andriy played in. He was the latest warrior to defend his country from the russians. It was filmed 5 years ago.

& Іван (1980 – 2025) was an auto-locksmith.
Ivan joined the army in 2022.

14 September

15 September – Володимир (1984 – 2025) was a mountaineer.
He graduated from Lviv Institute of Economics and Tourism. He loved hiking on the Carpathians, skiing. He also loved football.
Volodymyr joined the army in 2022. He was awarded the medals “Veteran of the war”, “For Merit”, “For Wounds”, and “Golden Trident”.

16 September – Михайло (1976 – 2025) was a driver.
Mykhaylo liked extreme sports.

& Андрій (1981 – 2025) was a ventilation system installer and electrician.
Andriy was interested in archaeological excavations. He loved fishing and drawing, collected antiques.

17 September – Сергій (1980 – 2024) was a worker at a metal business.
Serhiy loved history and travel in Ukraine, cared for animals.

& Андрій (1982 – 2025) was working in the construction industry.
He graduated from the National University Lviv Polytechnic with a degree in engineering. His specialisation was of Engineer of heat gas supply and ventilation.
Andriy liked fishing, engaged in combat sports, and loved animals. He liked hiking and nature.

18 September – Сергій (1964 – 2024) was born in another country [not mentioned] and moved to Ukraine as a child. He was a soldier and worked at the State Border Service.
He grew up in Donetsk Oblast, in the Donbas. He was part of ATO.
With the full-scale invasion, Serhiy’s family had to flee to Lviv after the siege of Mariupol began. He re-joined the army in 2022. For his service he was given multiple awards.

Serhiy was remembered by the refugees from Mariupol. They wrote a longer obituary, mentioning that during the night of 14 to 15 April 2022, Serhiy was taken into russian captivity. He was tortured, in captivity, until he died in 2024. His body was returned recently, in such a bad condition that he could be identified only by DNA tests.

19 September – Роман (1988 – 2024) was an assistant mason.
Roman loved construction work, and he liked billiards and was an avid football fan.

& Стефан (1968 – 2025) was a baker.
Stefan had graduated from Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts with a degree in arts and a specialisation in choreography of folk dances. He loved dancing, flowers, painting, and cooking. He wanted to create beauty.

20 September – Ігор (1991 – 2024) was a barman.
Ihor was trained as a chef-confectioner.

& Михайло (1987 – 2025) was working in law enforcement and security for private businesses.
He had a degree from Lviv State University of Internal Affairs.
Mykhaylo was part of ATO. He re-joined the military in 2024 and he was awarded the medal of the President of Ukraine “for military service of Ukraine”.

& Артур (1978 – 2025) was a construction worker.
Artur defended Ukraine in the Donetsk direction.

21 September

22 September

23 September – Андрій (1999 – 2025) was an architect.
He was born in Odesa. He received a degree from National University Lviv Polytechnic with a specialisation in Architecture and Urban Building. He loved architecture, wrote poems and songs, played the guitar and sang.
Andriy was awarded the medal “For the defence of the city of times yar” and the medal “Participant in combat”.

& Віталій (1988 – 2025) was a business owner.
He was born in Vinnytsia Oblast. He received a degree from National University Lviv Polytechnic with a specialisation in Ecology.
He loved computer games and cars.
Vitaliy joined the army in 2022. He was awarded with the honour of the Minister of Defence of Ukraine “Cross of Missile Troops and Artillery”.

24 September – Микола (1981 – 2025) was a construction worker.
He loved fishing and football. His family said that he had a good sense of humour and that he was always smiling.
Mykola joined the army in 2022. He was awarded multiple medals.

25 September – Олег (1974 – 2025) was working in security.
Oleh was trained as a technician.

& Юрій (1986 – 2025) was working in security.
He was trained as a radio technician.
Yuriy joined the army in 2022. Awarded the honour of the Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine “Golden Cross” and the medal “Veteran of the War”.

26 September – Дмитро (1999 – 2024) was an electrician.
He liked sewing leather goods and was interested in computer games.
Dmytro was part of ATO. He re-joined the military in 2022. Initially he defended Kyiv. He was awarded the Medal of the President of Ukraine with the Order of “For Courage” III Degree, Medal “Veteran of the War “, Medals of the National Guard of Ukraine “For Mining” II Degree “, and “For Valuable Service “.

& Володимир (1970 – 2024) was an electrician.
He is remembered as kind and fair and he liked electronics.
Volodymyr joined the army in 2023. He was awarded with the War veteran medal.

& Михайло (1984 – 2025) was, previously, a soldier. In 2022 he was a civilian.
Mykhaylo was part of ATO. He re-joined the military in 2022. He was awarded multiple honours.

27 September – Віктор (2000 – 2025) was a trained railway worker.
He also graduated from music school in piano class.
Victor joined the army in 2022. He was awarded with the War veteran medal.

& Микола (1982 – 2024) was a welder, working abroad.
He was a trained locksmith.
Mykola lived abroad and returned in 2023. He was awarded with the designation of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine “Defender of Ukraine”.

& Ігор (1992 – 2025) was a merchandiser at the New Post.
He graduated from the National University Lviv Polytechnic with a degree in Computer Engineering.
Ihor joined the army in 2022. He was awarded with the War veteran medal.

28 September

29 September – Олексій (1974 — 2025) was working in the Law Association Pavlenko and Partners and in the Law Association KPLT.
He was born in Chișinău, Moldova. He moved to Lviv to study at the Lviv National Agrarian University, where he graduated as an Engineer in mechanics of agricultural machines and mechanisms.
He liked cars and woodwork.
Oleksiy joined the army in 2022. He was awarded the honorary breast badge of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine “Golden Cross”.

& Оксана (1980 — 2025) was serving in the State Border Service of Ukraine.
She studied abroad, before returning to Ukraine.
Her family remembers her kindness and her determination. She liked sports and self-improvement.
Oksana was awarded the honours of the State Border Service of Ukraine “10 years of honest service” and “15 years of honest service”.

30 September – Мирослав (1972 – 2025) was living abroad before 2022.
He was a policeman. He liked music and travel.
Miroslav returned to Ukraine after the full-scale invasion to join the army. He was awarded multiple medals for his service.

The 1st of October is the Day of Defenders in Ukraine, marked by special memorials at the military cemetery. Eternal glory to the heroes!