Died after his father on his birthday: a young athlete held the defence near Bakhmut

Viktor Domitrashchuk, a Ukrainian athlete from the Chernivtsi region, was killed while holding back the Russian occupiers in the Donetsk region. The artilleryman with the call sign "Pike" met his last battle on his birthday, January 8, near the town of Chasiv Yar near Bakhmut. Now the soldier is 25 years old forever...

Viktor has been involved in sports since early childhood. His first coach, Ihor Nakonechnyi, met him in the pankration section. And the boy very quickly began to show results. The coach considered Domitrashchuk to be a very promising, warlike and courageous athlete.

Viktor wasn't the only one in his family who was fond of martial arts. His brother Vladyslav Toderash also trains in pankration and managed to become a world champion.

After Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, Viktor and his father Volodymyr were among the first to go to the volunteer recruitment centre to defend their land and family with arms.

According to Tetiana, the cousin of the deceased athlete, five men from the Domitrashchuk family went to war. And all of them - from the first days of the February invasion.

"We talked to Viktor every day. If they were bombed very badly, we would call him via video. Otherwise, we talked by phone. Sometimes he said it was hard because it was cold, sometimes he said it was fine. But he was a brave man, so he endured everything and smiled. He said: "Don't worry, I'll be there soon, everything will be fine. We'll even have a wedding," Tetiana told suspilne.media.

Unfortunately, three months before Viktor's death, his father gave his life for Ukraine in the battles in the Mykolaiv region. The family was still recovering from that loss when they were informed of another tragedy.

On January 8, on his 25th birthday, the athlete from the village of Hodyliv was killed as a result of the occupiers' shelling of the village of Chasiv Yar near Bakhmut.

"He and his father did not hesitate to defend their country from the first days of the war. He lived only 25 years, leaving behind the glory of a good man. A sincere, loyal, active, cheerful, bright young man who was just starting to make his plans for life, breathing in every moment with a full chest, pleasing his family and friends, dreaming, loving, and being a support for his family. The best son, brother, comrade-in-arms, a worthy warrior, a Hero..." Vasyl Toderenchuk, head of the Velykokuchurivska community, reacted to Viktor's death.

Earlier, OBOZREVATEL reported that a tank shot a father of three children. The martial arts master fought in the Luhansk region.

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