The life of 87-year-old Mykola Ilchenko was taken by enemy shelling on September 9, 2025, in Yarova, Kramatorsk District. The man was standing in line to collect his pension in the center of the settlement when Russian forces attacked civilians with a guided aerial bomb (KAB).
Mykola Ilchenko was born and lived in Yarova. He lived with his wife. On September 7, 2025, their home was completely destroyed by Russian shelling, and the couple moved in with their daughter.
On September 9, Mykola set out to collect his pension at a mobile Ukrposhta branch. At around 10:40 a.m., while he was standing in line, Russian forces dropped an aerial bomb on the area. Twenty-five people were killed.
His family remembers Mykola as a kind family man who worked hard all his life. He was employed as a water supply operator for the railway.
“For his age, my father was full of energy. This year he dug up the potatoes himself, moved around easily, and was always busy. His favorite saying was, ‘Movement is life,’” his daughter Olha recalled. “And he was a fisherman by nature—catching fish was his greatest pleasure.”
Mykola Ilchenko is survived by his wife, daughter, and grandson.
At 9:00 a.m., there is a nationwide moment of silence. The Donetsk Regional Military Administration and the Memorial: Killed by Russia platform honor the residents of Donetsk Oblast killed by Russians.