Dmytro Antonenko
42 years old, insolvency practitioner
Dmytro Antonenko
Advokat
October 10, 1979
Kharkiv
Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University
Attorney
Managing Partner of ACF Partners Law Association, insolvency practitioner
Soldier of the «Omega» Separate Special Purpose Detachment of the National Guard of Ukraine.
He took part in some of the fiercest battles and operated in the most difficult sections of the front, particularly during the active advancement of the defense line from Kharkiv
He was killed on June 27, 2022, during the defense of Kharkiv while directing fire against the occupiers near the village of Dementiivka. He sustained fatal shrapnel wounds as a result of shelling.
Posthumously awarded the Order «For Courage», III degree. In 2023, Minsk Street in Kharkiv was renamed in his honor
Oleksandr Antonenko, Dmytro’s father:
The guys brought back his belongings, and his watch survived. I did not wear it for a long time – it was covered in blood, they had probably wiped it on the grass. Later I cleaned it, and now I wear it. The last time we saw Dima, the alarm on that watch was ringing. Now every day at 08:31 it rings for me. I never turn it off – every time, at that moment, I say to Dima: “Hello.” And so it goes until the next day
Ihor Cherniak:
I am convinced that Dmytro was an extraordinary person. He did a great deal for the city, for people, and for the country as a whole. The feat of giving his life to save his friends deserves to be properly honored,» says Cherniak. «Dmytro knowingly went on his final operation. There is a military term – “calling fire upon oneself.” This is done to save the lives of others, even while understanding how it may end and how risky it is. He consciously went on that combat mission and personally asked his commander to let him take part in the operation. The unit in which he served participated in many brutal battles and fought in numerous difficult hotspots. Especially when the front line near Kharkiv began moving actively, his unit was operating exactly in those places we read about every day
Iryna Serbin:
I very much want a citizen of Ukraine – strong, independent, and powerful – to be like my colleague Dmytro Antonenko: highly intelligent, exceptionally decent and principled, educated, интелigent, with a sense of humor and boundless faith in Victory.
A person whose “house is never on the edge,” because the ability to take responsibility is embedded in his very DNA and is unwavering.
A person whose interests are always greater than his own, and whose thoughts are deeper than hundreds of books read, because they are supported by real actions and proven not by words but by deeds. This is reliability of the highest possible degree, without pathos or self-display. This is strength and power multiplied by wisdom.
With such people, one always feels confident, calm, and secure. It is thanks to people like him that we continue to stand firm – both physically and morally.
It is with the lives of such people that we pay for Freedom. And in my opinion, it is precisely so that we feel their absence in our lives this deeply, and because of this remember what we ourselves must become, having been given the chance – thanks to their heroism – to continue living, changing, and never diminishing ourselves
Since 2014, he had been an active volunteer: on weekends he traveled to the ATO zone, delivering body armor, footwear, helmets, sights, and night vision devices to the military.
He organized the production and modernization of modern weaponry and UAVs, and contributed to the establishment of a sniper training school in Desna, which significantly strengthened the combat capability of the Armed Forces of Ukraine