Senior soldier Maksym Dyachenko, nicknamed “Mini Mi,” died in the village of Rybatske, Mariupol district, on March 31, 2022. He and his seriously wounded comrades were evacuated from the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol when Russian troops shot down their helicopter. The soldier was 28 years old.
Maksym was born on May 23, 1993, in Chystyakove, but lived with his family in neighboring Shakhtarsk. In 2014, he graduated from the Donetsk Law Institute.
"When the state exams were going on, there were already battles for Donetsk airport. Immediately after the last exam, he went to Novi Petrivtsi to his father Igor and joined the Donbas battalion. There he took the oath and became a soldier. He served in this volunteer unit for about six months, after which he was discharged," said his mother, Tetyana.
In the spring of 2015, the family moved to Kamyanske in the Dnipropetrovsk region. They bought a house there and spent the whole summer renovating it.
“At the end of August, we were visited by brothers-in-arms with whom Max had served in the Donbas battalion. They offered him to join the ranks of Azov and organize aerial reconnaissance in the regiment,” his mother shared.
Maxim served in Azov from 2015 to 2021. He had many awards: the President's Award “For Participation in the ATO,” the badge “For Valiant Service,” and the medals “For the Defense of Mariupol” and “For Military Service.”
"I met him at our battalion club during a Warhammer 40,000 board game. He was short, wore round glasses, had a thick, long beard, and a bright smile. And his eyes were always shining, especially when Max talked about what he liked. I was a little amused by his love of huge knives. Mini Mi was an intelligent man, fluent in English, well-read, and had a good sense of humor. He was easy to talk to," said his comrade-in-arms, nicknamed Obito.
In October 2021, Maxim resigned. However, a few days before the full-scale invasion, he went to Mariupol: “I'll just take a look, maybe nothing will happen,” he said at the time. On the morning of February 24, 2022, Maxim was already at the base and rejoined the regiment.
"The connection was very weak and unstable. Maksym mainly communicated with his girlfriend Nastya, with whom he had been together for eight years. According to Igor, Maksym was wounded on March 14: a shell flew into the room and exploded, breaking his son's arm, burning his shoulder, and chopping his legs," said Tetiana.
She received the last voice message from her son on March 27: “Everything is fine, I am receiving treatment.” On March 31, the seriously wounded were evacuated by helicopter. But the helicopter could not reach Dnipro — the Russians shot it down over the village of Rybatske.
On November 20, 2024, the cremation took place at the Baikove Cemetery in Kyiv.
The defender was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage, III degree.
At 9:00 a.m., a nationwide minute of silence was observed. The Donetsk Regional State Administration and the Heroes Memorial platform commemorated the fallen defenders from Donetsk Oblast.