Senior soldier Ihor Uporov was the first victim in this unannounced war from Volodymyr-Volynsky. He was serving in the armored unit of 128 mountain-infantry brigade, died when their IFV got into an ambush where he, wounded, was shooting back to defend his comrades. He was younger than 30 when he was killed. It was he who gave names to his children. His elder daughter is five, whereas his younger daughter was born on the night after his funeral. The family of the serviceman is residing in an old house in a badly need of repair in the environs of Volodymyr-Volynsky. During his lifetime Ihor did his best to repair it, but he didn’t avoid mobilization. His wife Nadia recalls that he said that is the aggressor wouldn’t be stopped in the east, it would reach the thresholds of our homes, and there would be another Chechnya in the Donbas. He said that Ukraine should be defended in the east.
Ihor was really fond of photography. There is an incredible number of his shots made during his service in the ATO area. The photos show his fellow soldiers, their everyday life, as well as flowers from the Donetsk steppe and lizard on a sight of an automatic rifle. He was romantic in his soul. After his death people didn’t abandon the family with children. Owing to the city authorities, benefactors, and volunteers the roof was repaired, as well as the rooms, and tiles were laid in the yard. But one of the big desires of widow Nadia was to make a photo album that would tell the daughters about their father. There is such album, it was created by a volunteer from Lutsk Tania Dolzhko. She has a volunteer group, Volyn SOS, which takes care of migrants from the east and our soldiers who are or were fighting in the east for the territorial integrity of Ukraine. She says that it was difficult for her to make a computer layout of the album, because every night (she didn’t have time for this during the day) she had to look at the young face of the deceased, think on his fate and the destiny of the state, for which he gave his life, she looked in his eyes as if trying to understand many things. Money was allotted to print the album, but a pleasant surprise for her was when the firm “Elit Foto” when its employees found out what she was going to print, didn’t take any money from her.
The album about father with pictures of himself, and photographs he made in the front was brought to Volodymyr Volynsky by volunteers from the group “Polissia guerrillas.” For the children this will be a memory of their father who is an example for many adult people.
