A street in Nikopol will be renamed in honor of Serhiy Sova

My husband's hand is a symbol of the dignity and courage of a Ukrainian warrior, - says the widow of the deceased Nikopol citizen.

They want to rename Pskovska street in Nikopol in honor of the fallen Hero of Ukraine Serhii Sovy. It was there that the legendary defender lived with his family.

The news site "Fakty" published an interview with the wife of the Ukrainian defender.

Serhiy Sova died on April 19, 2022 in the city of Izyum, Kharkiv region. The wife of the deceased Hero, Oksana Sova, seems to have cried a sea of tears, at some moments she is having trouble getting every word out, because she can hardly even breathe because of her despair and screams. It hurts all the way to the sky... The same photo is in front of my eyes - a hand with blue and yellow bracelets. And this hand is not alien to her, it is her beloved 36-year-old husband and soldier Serhii, who fought to the last bullet for Ukraine with the Russian army, because he loved her as much as he did his beautiful wife, son Marat and daughter Elina.

The man said that you have to do your job one hundred percent — defend Ukraine and stand until the end.

— Serhiy has been fond of sports since childhood. He practiced boxing for ten years, had the title of candidate for master of sports, was the champion of Ukraine among juniors. He himself decided to go to military service, he served in the Air Force of Ukraine, says Oksana. - Serhiy won my heart right away - not only with his appearance and courage, but with his kind heart, care and tenderness. We have been married for 15 fantastic years and have two wonderful children. Marat is 14 years old, Elina is nine. My husband and I were engaged in a family business - training dogs, breeding professional breeds. We have many four-legged pets, we trained many dogs that later became champions of prestigious competitions. In addition, the man helped train dogs and military personnel, was a well-known professional dog breeder among the residents of Nikopol. He also adored our pets - two shepherd dogs and a Cane Corso dog. He always said that his soul rests next to dogs.

— How did your husband get into the war?

— In addition to cynology, another thing in the life of the beloved was the army. In 2014, when the anti-terrorist operation began, Serhii was mobilized in the first wave and joined the 93rd separate mechanized brigade "Kholodny Yar". The man courageously defended Pisky, delivered ammunition to the Donetsk airport, and went through a difficult path. After a year, he was demobilized in order to rest and spend time with his family. However, he was not enough for a long time, because his brothers constantly called and asked him, as a professional in his field, to return. Soon after, Serhiy signed a contract with the same 93rd brigade and continued to fight as a senior rifleman. For his exemplary service as a senior soldier, he was awarded numerous awards.

On the eve of the full-scale invasion, Serhiy was sent to study in Desna, he was to receive the qualification of a combat medic. However, February 24 came and he and his comrades were sent to defend the borders of the Kharkiv region. In April, he was in the Raisin direction. We always kept in touch, and my husband was open with me, sharing everything he had experienced. Serhiy explained that he had to fight and could not leave his brothers. It was his calling. Because no matter how much he was rejected, realizing that his brigade was always on the front lines, he never wanted to leave the service. Like, he wasn't used to sitting out, he was rushing to hell itself. There was no fear, although the man often repeated that only a fool is not afraid... But you have to do your job one hundred percent — protect Ukraine and stand to the end.

All these 5 months, my husband's friends and relatives and I searched for him wherever possible. I looked at photos from morgues every day.

— You understood that in April, hell was brewing in Izyum and something irreparable could happen at any moment. Did you raise this topic with Sergiy? Did he understand that he might not return home?

You know, our last conversation was on the morning of April 19. He told me that 3-4 days before that, they were covered by the Rashist aviation, artillery and tanks were coming at them. The resistance from our side was less, because we lacked the weapons to adequately respond. Serhiy said that the mobilized were the first to die because they had less experience. On April 19, there were six "two hundred" from the company. And the man said that there was an order to stand until the end, so he would do it. But it is not known how much they will be enough. After that, the connection was lost...

A few days later, she submitted an application to the military commissariat and the unit. They gave a DNA sample. A reply came from the military unit that Serhiy was not found at his position on the battlefield. He was officially declared missing. For all these 5 months, my husband's friends and relatives and I were looking for him wherever possible. Every day I looked at photos from morgues and chased away bad thoughts. She believed in a miracle, because several fighters were taken prisoner, although their relatives could not find out where they are now being held.

Only the other day I learned the truth about the death of my beloved. Together with the fighters, he was surrounded by the Rashists, but the positions were scattered far from each other and there was no communication between the units. Unfortunately, enemy troops entered and struck... Due to the heavy fighting and subsequent occupation, it was not possible to take away the bodies of the Ukrainian soldiers.

Serhii was officially declared missing in Ukraine

— I know that it hurts you a lot, but remember the moment when you saw the photo with the same hand of Sergey with patriotic bracelets. Did you immediately recognize that it was him?

— A few days before the exhumation was to begin, I felt so heavy in my soul, my heart seemed to burst out of my chest... I knew that our troops had entered Izyum, and such anxiety began. But I didn't even think that my Serhii's grave would be found in that forest, because the positions were in a completely different place, in a forest plantation. I thought that they would find him there. Then the photos from the exhumation began to appear, and I had no doubt for a second that this was my Sergiy. I recognized my husband by his many tattoos, because there were large images on his body - an owl's head, a skull image, a samurai with Chinese characters. Even the tattooed name of the daughter remained on the arm. And yellow and blue bracelets. Serhiy hasn't parted with these bracelets since 2014. Back when he was going to war, our children gave them to him as charms.

My son then went to the first grade, and my daughter was one year old. Around the man's neck were still silver chains with the image of the Archangel. As far as I understood, the Rashists took them off and took them away... Even in the pockets of Serhii's uniform, there must be toys from the "kindergarten", which Elinka often gave him.

—  Apparently, everything broke down inside then...

— So. The ground has gone from under my feet (a woman is crying). The son cried a lot for his father. And on Sunday, he got together and left a letter to Volodymyr Zelenskyi on the website of the President's Office, in which he asked for help to return his father home as soon as possible for a dignified burial. In his request, he attached a photo of the same hand of his closest relative, which is also published on the website of the President's Office. And he pointed out that it was his father's hand. These are symbols of the dignity of the Ukrainian soldier, his courage. At the end, Marat added that since 2014, his father had worthily defended Ukraine and gave his life for it, and that it would be a great honor for him to receive a posthumous award for his father from the hands of Volodymyr Zelenskyi.

For his courage. For choosing the freedom of our country. When my son confessed to me about his act, it moved me even more... We hope that we will be heard and we will be able to see Serhiy on his last journey with military honors very soon. He deserved to be buried with dignity. We have been waiting for him for so long...

— Did the locals bury our soldiers in Izyum?

— Probably so. The Rashists left the soldiers at the scene of the battle. And here they were buried in a humane, Christian way, crosses were arranged, flowers were placed on some graves. It was definitely done by our Ukrainian people, not by those animals...

— After the exhumation, some of our soldiers were found with their hands tied. They were tortured. Has your husband been tortured?

— Sergei was also tortured... Until the last cartridge. I know my husband and I know for sure that he would not tell anything that the Rashists are asking. Sergiy would definitely spit in their faces and never say anything. Whatever they do with him. Even if it cost him his life. He always said: he would not give up a single meter of Ukrainian land, because then what would his brothers die for?! And he kept his word.

On September 23, 2022, Serhii Sova's body was buried in his native city of Nikopol. The next day, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, awarded him the title of Hero of Ukraine with the award of the Order of the Golden Star.

We remind you that the Nkopol agglomeration suffers daily from Russian shelling: the occupiers continue to kill the civilian population.