Fighting picked up again along the war front in late October and continued sporadically through November. Russian-led forces had as of noon on Nov. 23 attacked Ukrainian army positions in the Donbas at least 12 times in the previous 24 hours, with two Ukrainian soldiers reported as wounded in action.
The Luhansk Oblast villages of Troyitske, Katerynivka, Novooleksandrivka and Lobacheve remained fighting hot spots, while in Donetsk Oblast’s Pavlopil Russian-led forces used mortars and opened fire with grenade launchers close to Avdiyivka, a government-held city located 580 kilometers southeast of Kyiv.
In the past 45 days, the Ukrainian army has lost 22 soldiers killed in combat and as a result of landmine explosions, according to a Kyiv Post count based on information from the military, volunteers and local media reports.
International monitors from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights verified that at least five civilians were killed and 19 injured in October, which was a 33 percent increase compared to the previous month. More than 1.7 million people have been displaced since the beginning of the Russia-instigated war in the Donbas.
Those pictured are Ukrainian soldiers known to have been killed from Oct. 13 till Nov. -17:
Nov. 17
Oleksandr Yarotsky, 33, a soldier of the 128th Mountain Brigade from Khmelnytsky Oblast. Yarotsky started serving in the army in 2014. He took part in battles for Ilovaisk and Debaltseve, home to a strategic railway junction. After demobilization, Yarotsky returned back to his family in Starokostyantyniv town in Khmelnytsky Oblast but later made it back to frontlines. He was killed in Luhansk Oblast. Yarotsky leaves a wife and a son.
Andriy Dobrovolsky, 20, a soldier of the 10th brigade from Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. Dobrovolsky volunteered to the army in February 2016 when his dad returned from the frontlines. He was badly injured during the shelling near Troiytske village in Luhansk Oblast. Dobrovolsky died later in Popasna hospital. He leaves his parents, a younger brother and a wife.
Nov. 15
Vladyslav Makarevych, 35, a police officer from Donetsk Oblast. He’d been working with the police for 18 years. After Donetsk became a separatist stronghold, Makarevych evacuated his family to Kyiv but continued to serve in port city of Mariupol in Donetsk Oblast. He helped to evacuate civilians during a major battle in Maryinka that sparked fears of a full-blown offensive in June 2015. Makarevych was driving a vehicle with fellow police officer while patrolling the frontline village of Talakivka when they hit an anti-tank mine. His death was instant. Makarevych leaves a wife a 6-year-old son and a 4-year-old daughter.
Nov. 8
Rostyslav Danylov, 27, a soldier of the 25th brigade from Dnipro. He was badly injured near Butivka mine close to Donetsk. He leaves a family in Dnipro.
Nov. 7
Anton Myshko, 32, a soldier of the 58th brigade from Kyiv. He volunteered to the army back in 2014. Myshko was the only son in his family. He was killed in combat near Krymske village in Luhansk Oblast.
Valentyn Nychvydiuk, 28, a soldier of the 58th brigade from Sumy Oblast. Nychvydiuk worked as a lawyer before the war started in eastern Ukraine. He was killed near Bakhmutka highway in Donetsk Oblast. Nychvydiuk leaves a wife and child.
Nov. 1
Stanislav Kurbatov, 37, a soldier of the Ukraine’s National Guard from Kharkiv Oblast. Kurbatov was a professional soldier. He was severely injured near Maryinka and died later in Mariupol city hospital.
