86-year-old Valerii Manzelo was killed as a result of a Russian airstrike on Sloviansk on the morning of March 10, 2026. He was in his own apartment on Torska Street when an enemy bomb struck the building. He died in the hospital.
Valerii Manzelo was born on February 26, 1940. He studied at School No. 15 in Sloviansk and graduated from the Ukrainian Correspondence Polytechnic Institute. He was a center forward for the local football team “Khimik.” It was he who had the honor of making the ceremonial first kick at the reopening of the renovated city stadium in November 2020.
Valerii Manzelo dedicated his professional career to the development of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. He headed the construction and installation department “SU-259” of the trust “Donbaspromkhimmontazh,” which was part of the “Energomashspetsstal” association that built key industrial plants in the region and laid high-pressure pipelines.
Under his leadership, from 2003 to 2006, the last blast furnace in Ukraine was installed and launched at the Yenakiieve Metallurgical Plant. In Sloviansk, “Donbaspromkhimmontazh” was involved in laying heating networks, gas pipelines, and water supply systems.
His family remembers Valerii as an outstanding leader, a true professional, a decent and kind person, a loving father and grandfather who passed on his best personal and professional qualities to the next generations. His daughter continues his work as an occupational safety engineer, and his grandson is studying to become a civil protection engineer.
Valerii Manzelo was buried at the Northern Cemetery in Sloviansk.
Every day at 9:00 — a nationwide minute of silence. The Donetsk Regional Military Administration and the Memorial platform “Killed by Russia” honor residents of Donetsk region killed by Russian forces.