Captain Rostyslav Melentiev, call sign “Kep,” was killed on June 1, 2025, near the village of Yablunivka in Sumy Oblast as a result of artillery shelling. He was 27 years old.
Rostyslav was born in Toretsk and lived in Kryvyi Rih. He graduated from the Flight Academy of the National Aviation University and worked for the airline Motor Sich.
On December 1, 2020, he began serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and held the status of combat veteran. During the full-scale war, he voluntarily transferred to the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, where he became commander of an assault company of the 4th SSO Regiment “Ranger.”
“He was kind and creative, wrote poetry, played the guitar. A patriot to the core,” his wife Iryna wrote.
He was posthumously awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 3rd Class. He was laid to rest in the village of Mykilske.
He is survived by his wife, two-year-old daughter, and mother.
At 9:00 a.m. — a nationwide minute of silence. The Donetsk Regional Military Administration and the Memorial of Heroes platform honor the fallen defenders from Donetsk region.