Soldier Kateryna Rohovyk, call sign “Katrin,” was killed on May 8, 2022, in the city of Mariupol. She was in a bunker that was hit by an airstrike. She was forever 28 years old.
Kateryna was born in Mariupol. She graduated from Secondary School No. 37 there and earned a higher education degree in economics from the Mariupol branch of the Kyiv Academy of International Economics and International Relations. She owned a grocery store and a café located near a military unit. On December 16, 2021, she signed a contract to serve in the National Guard of Ukraine, where she held the position of clerk in the material and technical support unit.
“Katya was supposed to be transferred to the position of head of the food supply base in February. She had been training for a month. Her birthday is on February 20. They were given three days off, and she came home. But the very next day everyone was called back to the base. The war began. And I never saw her again. We only spoke by phone or texted. Katya was at the Azovstal plant together with her brothers-in-arms. I begged her: ‘My daughter, leave as a civilian, we will come and get you.’ But she replied: ‘Mom, I’m fine. I can’t do that. There are such good and strong guys around me. I’m proud to be with them.’ On May 7 at 7:57 p.m., she wrote: ‘Mom, tomorrow I’m leaving by car.’ They were supposed to evacuate her disguised as a civilian. But on May 8, around 3 p.m., an aerial bomb hit the bunker. Katya’s comrades told me about my daughter’s death, and later the patronage service confirmed it. Her body has still not been returned to us,” her mother, Iryna Rohovyk, said.
“I never thought that in my old age I would be left without her. Katya was our long-awaited child. She dreamed of living and working. From school she wrote poetry. She loved reading history books. At 19, she opened her own business. Her café was very popular among the military. Katya had a beloved partner with whom she lived for seven years. He is a great support to me now. But, of course, no one can replace my daughter,” she added.
Kateryna was posthumously awarded the Order “For Courage,” 3rd class. At home, her parents and her beloved were waiting for her.
At 9:00 a.m. — the nationwide minute of silence.
The Donetsk Regional Military Administration and the Memorial of Heroes platform honor fallen defenders from Donetsk region.