Twenty-year-old volunteer Mykola Volkov, callsign “Smurfik,” died on April 15, 2019, at Mechnikov Hospital in Dnipro.
On April 10, while carrying out a combat mission, he sustained a severe head wound from a sniper’s bullet near Vodiane. After several cardiac arrests, he passed away.
Mykola was born and lived his entire life in Mariupol. He graduated from the Mariupol Electromechanical Technical College, earning a qualification as an electrician. Before coming of age, he joined the Azov Civil Corps, took part in patriotic actions, and was involved in training exercises. He loved traveling across Ukraine by hitchhiking and was a member of the FC Mariupol ultras movement.
In June 2018, he completed training at the Hospitallers Medical Volunteer Battalion training center. The following month, he went on his first rotation to the settlement of Pisky. From the autumn of 2018, he was assigned to the 8th Battalion of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army. He served as a volunteer paramedic with the Hospitallers Medical Battalion and the 2nd “Shadows” Company of the 8th Separate Battalion “Aratta,” carrying out missions in the Mariupol area.
“Brave, sincere, and full of wisdom beyond his young age. Without exaggeration, one of the kindest people I have ever met. It was enough just to see Mykola for your mood to change—your soul immediately felt warmer,” recalled his sister, Natalia Dubynina.
Mykola Volkov was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage, Third Class, and the Medal of Mercy.
The paramedic was laid to rest at the Alley of Glory of the Staryi Krym Cemetery in Mariupol.
He is survived by his father, a half-sister, and a half-brother.
9:00 a.m. — the nationwide Minute of Silence. The Donetsk Regional Military Administration and the Heroes’ Memorial platform honor the fallen defenders from Donetsk region.