Officer of the National Guard of Ukraine Serhiy Mykhalchuk, 21, was killed as a result of enemy artillery shelling in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, on Saturday, December 14.
Read alsoUkraine reports one KIA, two WIAs amid eight enemy attacks in Donbas on Dec 14
The Ukrainian military was killed in a mortar shell explosion, fearlessly shielding his comrade from a blast amid an artillery barrage by Russian-backed forces, the National Guard's Rapid Reaction Brigade wrote on Facebook on December 15.
"A 21-year-old National Guard officer, sergeant Serhiy Mykhalchuk was killed shielding his friend from shrapnel. Despite his young age, Mykhalchuk worthily fought against Russian-occupation forces and died in battle like a real warrior. He demonstrated the highest military fraternity, having sacrificed his live for his friend," the report said.
Mykhalchuk will be presented with the nation's top military award for his heroism, it added.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Russia's hybrid military forces on December 14 mounted eight attacks on Ukrainian Army positions in Donbas with one Ukrainian soldier reported as killed in action and another two as wounded in action.
