Artem Savyuk, 38, was killed on April 25 in Lyman. He was in his own yard in one of the city’s neighborhoods—Zeleny Klyn. It was that neighborhood that the Russians bombed that morning. The bomb blast tore off Artem’s legs… His 14-year-old son, Igor, also died from severe injuries.
For the past 15 years, Artem Savyuk had worked for the Donetsk Railway, repairing railcars. In Sloviansk, he met his wife, Oksana, who had two sons from a previous marriage. Their son, Igor, was born there. Soon after, Artem moved the entire family to Lyman, his hometown.
The family supported and loved one another. Almost immediately, Oksana’s sons began calling Artem “Dad.” The Savyuks bought a house and had their own vegetable garden. The family enjoyed a peaceful family life. Together, they went on vacations to the Blue Lakes and walked in the Lyman forest to pick mushrooms and raspberries.
“We’d go out onto the street, and Oksana would point out to me: ‘Over there is Stavy, over there is Yampil, and over there is the forest.’ The beauty was incredible… After February 24, my husband and I moved in with our daughter in Lyman, thinking it would be safer and more peaceful there,” recalled Artem’s mother-in-law, Tetiana Matsegora.
On April 25, the family’s life changed forever…
After Artem’s death, one of his sons had to bury him on his own in Lyman. “Ruslan buried his father and boarded up the windows and doors of the house where we used to have such a wonderful time,” Tetyana said.
Artem’s wife, Oksana, is struggling to cope with the loss of her husband: “I love him so much; he was a wonderful person. I can’t live without him,” wrote Oksana Savyuk.
The deceased is survived by his wife, Oksana, and his sons, Yaroslav and Ruslan.
At 9:00 a.m.—a nationwide minute of silence. The Donetsk Regional Military Administration and the Memorial platform: those killed by Russia are remembering the residents of the Donetsk region killed by Russians.