Footballer died of severe injuries sustained in battle with Russian occupiers

Andriy Karaniuk, a young paratrooper from the Rivne region, was killed in the fight against the Russian occupiers. On December 3, the Ukrainian defender fought his last battle.

The Rivne Regional Football Association reported the tragedy on its Facebook page, noting that Andriy would have turned 29 on December 12. However, the fighter's life ended 9 days earlier.

Since childhood, Karaniuk has been fond of football and was a pupil of the children's sports school of Veres Rivne, which now plays in the Ukrainian Premier League. As part of the main team in the region, Andriy played in the Children's and Youth Football League of Ukraine.

However, Karaniuk failed to gain a foothold at Veres. After that, he played for a number of teams in the Rivne region: FC Saturn (Dyadkovychi), FC Budmarket Mayak (Kolodenko), FC Omelenets (Velyka Omeliana).

After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Andriy went to the frontline. Recently, the former footballer served as a gunner with the 5th Parachute Company of the 2nd Parachute Battalion.

It is not yet known in which region of Ukraine Karaniuk's heart stopped beating. It is only known that the hero died on December 3 while performing combat missions. On that day, Andriy received injuries incompatible with life.

Earlier, OBOZREVATEL reported that the Russian occupiers had killed a Ukrainian record holder. Master of Sports in powerlifting Yaroslav Khybovskyi died in the battles for his homeland. Having joined the military under contract, Yaroslav was the chief sergeant of the 2nd mechanised platoon of the mechanised company.

We also recently told that a Ukrainian soccer player died in the war with the Russian occupiers. Volodymyr Kyrychuk, a pupil of the Veres Sports School and a former player of Orzhiv's ODEK FC, was killed defending his homeland. The 23-year-old hero died on October 1 as a result of fighting in the Kherson region.

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