Serhii Yarmolenko
40 years old, attorney
Serhii Yarmolenko
Zyma
May 8, 1983
Vinnytsia
Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University
Attorney at the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine, including as a representative of the prosecution in the case of the murder of Heorhii Gongadze.
Coordinator for International Cooperation of the Expert Committee on Artificial Intelligence Development under the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine
Commander of the anti-aircraft missile and artillery platoon of the fire support company of the 207th Battalion. In the first days of the invasion, he joined the Kyiv Territorial Defense Forces and defended Kyiv. Served in the 241st Separate Territorial Defense Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Killed on June 14, 2023, while carrying out a combat mission near Bakhmut
Posthumously awarded the distinction «For the Defense of Ukraine» by Presidential Decree
Oleksandra Yarmolenko, wife:
Serhii immediately went to defend the city. And this decision could not even be discussed. Before that, he had never been involved in military affairs. In civilian life, he was a marathon runner. Once he completed a 100-kilometer marathon in Vinnytsia for the charity foundation «Tabletochki» to raise funds for children with cancer. He always liked the idea of making the world better and helping someone somehow. He truly wanted that very much…
Volodymyr Yanichevskyi, friend and military serviceman:
You could always rely on him. We served in different battalions, in different places. We carried out different tasks. But he was my brother-in-arms – both in how deeply he was “engaged” with me and in how much he lived for victory. He never said “if,” he always said “when” it would happen
Dmytro Saranchuk, lawyer:
Zyma and I met on February 27, when we were figuring out how to organize shifts at Halia. Back then, it was not yet “Halia” – for both of us it was just some random intersection somewhere in Syrets. We were surprised to learn that we were colleagues. While drinking tea in the cold, we recalled our acquaintance with each other’s “civilian” supervisors. We even discussed the legal market a little – at that time, it seemed we would return to it soon. Then a year passed, during which he grew from a soldier into a platoon commander, a junior lieutenant. In the army, people like to talk in the kitchen about who got what rank or position and why. That was never about Zyma. Simply because everyone knew it was absolutely deserved. Because Serhii possessed dignity, responsibility, intellect, justice, and friendship. He was honest and treated people with respect. He was the kind of commander who led his group into the tree line already knowing it would be hot there. Through his own example and calmness, he motivated people to continue carrying out the mission when it was very, very hard and frightening
Dariia Pysarenko, friend:
My last conversation with you was about how you were “tired of sitting in the tree line in the north” and wanted to assault the tree lines in the east. About how you wanted to join the Air Assault Forces. About the difficulties of transferring. You managed to do it. You assaulted the tree lines and destroyed the enemy. Thank you for being there and for holding the sky. I am sure you are still holding it now