BIOGRAPHY
In Memory of
Ihor Utyuzh
Text in memory of Igor Utyuzh, who died on the 7th birthday of 2023. The material is written on the basis of stories from Igor’s homeland: fathers - Oleg and Nina Utyuzh, and also named - Evgenia Shklyaruk.
One of ours
As a child, Igor became restless and active. This kind of breakdown (in a good sense) from the burning eyes and the belief that there is nothing difficult. Having always found usefulness and having developed character from a young age, the choice was either karate, jiu-jitsu, or rowing.
Over the years, activity has acquired a stubborn character and stubbornness. And also love for people. Therefore, Igor can unofficially be called the master of sports due to the established contacts. His wickedness had a mysticism: a lot of words, a laugh - and Igor is already “his own people,” a good comrade, with whom you can have fire and water.
"Since my life was betrayed to me, I am needed for something greater."
After school, Igor independently entered into the budget of the Kiev Polytechnic Institute. And in his first year, when the boy was 17 years old, a turning point emerged - the Revolution of Goodness began, which shaped Igor as a citizen of the region, crystallized his valuable guidelines.
"They were drawn there. Sometimes the couples walked away, or immediately after the couples left the Maidan with the boys,” says Nina, Igor’s mother. — And after the beating of the students, Igor knew his place there. And already at the age of 17, essentially still a child, he clearly understood that he wanted to live in a free independent country, which was collapsing with the pro-European direct and did not accept the daily manifestations of dictatorship".
Igor visited the 24th hundred defensists of the Maidan and then learned that he had to fight for his own. The young man was not even 18 years old when the Revolution of Hydnost became a part of his life - patrolling the Maidan, standing on the barricades, taking part in the protests from the "aunts" and the golden eagle, extracting from the hands of the security forces those whom got ready for the shopiti. Igor’s mother can guess how anxious those days were and how she praised her son:
"The stinks didn’t sleep there for many days, and as soon as they got into the smell, there were white rots right there near the tents and in the places where the KMDA was located on the underside.
The stinkers were still quite young if they had the opportunity to withstand the golden eagles and trained “aunties” with reinforcement without any protection or protection. All that was needed was passion, humility and a strong hand, producing Molotov cocktails. There are rare moments when Igor returns home, arriving even tired and looking black.”
/Photo by IA “UNIAN”/
The baked days on Grushevsky Igor passed from the front line workers, where they had washed off the wounds with humic scum and were exhausted by gas. Fathers will guess the meaning of Maidan with fear and pride:"For about an hour, there was a fire burning in one of the stores on Grushevsky Street. Then Igor, for a powerful initiative, took the Ukrainian ensign and entered into negotiations with the security forces, otherwise they let the other cars through. At that moment there was silence at the barricades. Smiling, lively and still so young, Igor turned with an ensign in his hands, firemen and his first victory".
In 2014, Igor developed a strong sense of justice and loyalty to principles. The rice itself would become an expensive commodity for the boy and lie at the basis of every choice in life.
“You are a human being, and your path, molded into parts, will follow you,” the father told Igor about his childhood. "We had little wine, but the main thing was carnage. Since childhood, I have been trying to pin down the frames of behavior - showing characters in books and films. “Ale Igor and the frames are not incompatible,” says Oleg. — As I grew up, Igor independently came to the singing framework that became conscience, faith and truth, and also a sense of justice.".
Stubbornness, honesty, humility, arrogance - these are the thoughts that fall first on Igor’s mind. Tse bula, in pershu cherga, Lyudina. Tsinnіsna, deep, obsessive. This is because he was the first to respond to the situation, and not to deal with it - on the Maidan in 2014, at the time of large-scale invasion in 2022. Between these two sides there are 8 rocks. And the honesty that was destroyed by Igor was lost unchanged.
Under the hour of the Revolution of Gidnost on the 18th of February 2014, Igor recovered from the gravely wounded Mariinsky Park. This happened under the hour of the essence of the armorless people from the golden eagle. For a difficult time, the boy was not given medical assistance - the attackers wanted him to fight at the point between life and death. Before the doctor, the lad managed to take Irina Gerashchenko away from her colleagues. Doctors performed a number of terminological operations: Igor was in critical condition - part of the skull was crushed. In time, she had to have a titanium plate installed and undergo a difficult course of rehabilitation. Then, after recovering, Igor told his parents the following phrase: "If they saved my life, then I am needed for something greater." And his parents are already admitting: "If he hadn't been beaten then and hadn't been in the hospital during the days of the tragic mass shootings on Maidan, we don't know whether Igor would have survived and whether he would have taken part in the Great War, which he later joined..."
"The war has begun! I'm coming home!"
Despite a serious injury sustained on the Maidan, within a few years Ihor joined the ATO: he underwent special training and performed second-line defense tasks. In 2016, at the age of 20, he received the medal "For Sacrifice and Love for Ukraine."
3-4 months before the large-scale invasion, Igor felt the approach of a great struggle. And even then he knew that this struggle would be his personal one. Therefore, in the fall of 2021, he told his family: "If this happens, I will be there, I will go." Igor left no room for doubt or hesitation. Overall, like all his life decisions, his desire to defend his country was unwavering.
Igor met the news of the large-scale Russian invasion while celebrating his anniversary with his girlfriend in Budapest. The morning of February 24th began with two phrases: "The war has begun! I'm coming home!"
Even then, Igor's decision required considerable perseverance. After all, it was very difficult to overcome the road home in the first hours of a full-scale invasion. "He called over 20 carriers. However, he only received refusals. No one wanted to go to Ukraine. With several transfers, the guy reached the Ukrainian border. And then he left Chop by train. Igor was the only one in the empty car. He had already traveled across Ukraine to Kyiv by car with friends. On the way to Kyiv, they came under fire. But, stubbornly, he continued his way home. The capital's security forces searched Igor for a long time, he seemed like a strange guy, going towards a column of thousands, which, on the contrary, was moving to the West, leaving the capital, - recalls Igor's girlfriend Yevheniya. - We often remembered that day and joked about the most expensive taxi in his life. After all, already tired from Kyiv, he had to go to Troyeshchyna for 1,500 hryvnias".
For the first two months, Igor had a legend: so that his family wouldn't worry, he convinced them that he was volunteering around the city, although he himself immediately joined the defense of Kyiv in the ranks of ALPHA. And over time, after the de-occupation of the Kyiv region, Igor became part of the 78th separate Airborne Assault Regiment. However, for a long time it was unofficial. Even in the conditions of a large-scale war, a certain bureaucracy slowed down the process of officially joining the boy in the ranks of the airborne assault troops. The parents recall:
"Igor's desire to defend his country could not change anything. For a long time, he was not officially registered in the army, so accordingly, he did not receive any salary, although he was in hot spots. The guys from his unit decided that they would dump Igor for at least some minimum payment. He was uncomfortable. We were terribly worried. But he always had one unwavering answer - "I want to be with the guys. That's all." Money was not important. Nor was the formality of the question. It was a sincere desire".
Calls from the front line to his parents were accompanied by the phrases: "Mom, I'm far away, I'm not on the front line! Everything is fine." It was a deception for the sake of concern, because Igor knew how much his family was worried.
"Dad, when I grow up, I'm going to go to Africa to protect elephants..."
For his brothers, Igor was "Elephant" - that was the boy's call sign. Because he was stocky - 1.95 meters tall, with size 46 feet and broad shoulders, behind which you could hide a small world. Igor loved elephants very much. In his school years, he shared with his father:
"Dad, when I grow up, I'm going to Africa to protect elephants. They're so often killed for their tusks".
Elephants, by the way, are among the most intelligent animals. Their unique difference from many other mammals is mutual aid: they never abandon their own and always stick to their group. This trait was also inherent in Igor: not to abandon his own and to stick to the pack, one for another, in a single spirit. Friends, brothers — this was the second family, which he was proud of. Everyone came to Igor's funeral with elephants — the defender's grave was covered with colorful toys.
"I want to go into cities and plant flags. I want to be there!"
Evgenia, Igor's lover, recalls that over time, war and life became one. Igor could call from the trenches, and she was worried why he was without a hat or helmet. Such simple expressions of care and love, which held together two separated souls. And when here, in Kyiv, her heart was clenching with excitement, Igor was convincing: "Don't worry, it's only 100 meters from us to them, that's where they'll arrive." Everything was always "ok" for him, he never complained, he never looked for the guilty (except for the Russians, of course), and he carried out his mission with inspiration, even if it involved collecting downed drones in a minefield. Together we opened the last message that Igor wrote before his death. It was confident and life-affirming: "Morning begins not with coffee, but with dead orcs...".
Igor's commander wanted to see him at headquarters. He said his knowledge and skills were needed there. But Igor was adamant, he wanted to be with the guys at the front: "I want to go into the cities and plant flags. I want to be there."
Igor tried to be as easygoing and caring as possible with his family, protecting his loved ones from the terrible realities with every word or action. He did not allow himself weaknesses or fear, because he understood that he was a support, that those who needed protection the most were clinging to him. He felt that behind his broad shoulders was hidden that little cozy world — his family. Dad Oleg admitted: "At some point I felt that my son had become the elder in the family, his experience, his decisions, his character. I felt in him the strength that led our family.".
Yevgenia recalls that she saw Igor cry only once in her life: he had just returned from a short vacation to Kyiv, and in the evening, amidst the bustling city, which continued to live its seemingly normal life, he talked about the dead boys, his brothers. Those few tears were not a sign of weakness. On the contrary: releasing emotion and showing what was truly on his mind was a powerful accomplishment and revelation for Igor.
"I will do anything to survive"
Ihor was confident in victory and clearly understood what it should be — with the de-occupation of all Ukrainian territories and a return to the borders of Ukraine in 2014, with even greater shifts in public sentiment in the country, with an active pro-European position. He believed in people - he saw the best in them, but he was intolerant of the lack of values, bribery, and lack of character. He clearly knew what was worth something in this life and what was just dust. He also knew why he became a defender, what he was fighting for. He was not afraid of death, he was not afraid of battles. He was afraid of the unknown of captivity, but he said: "I will do everything to survive." Because he really wanted to see victory.
Soldier Ihor Utyuzh participated in the liberation of the Kyiv and Kharkiv regions, fought in the Zaporizhia and Kherson directions. He was a UAV operator. The last battle took place in the Zaporizhia direction, where Igor and his comrades were covering the assault brigade. That morning, Igor's team managed to launch 12 drones with an excellent result - 12 hits on enemy positions. However, they also angered the Russians, who were already looking for a drone team. And at the moment the 13th drone was launched, an enemy shell flew into the dugout of our guys. There was no chance of survival...
But you and I have a chance to preserve the story of Igor. A brave guy from Kyiv who loved this life and savored it to the fullest — he had many hobbies, traveled, loved football, dreamed a lot. After the victory, the first thing he planned was a trip to Crimea. He prepared a tent, hiking equipment, and mountain routes for it. Before the war, Igor was a rafting instructor, getting incredible pleasure from rafting on turbulent mountain streams. One day he wanted to conquer the famous rafting routes in America and Africa. He dreamed of water and speed. And he also dreamed of creating his own charitable foundation.
In February 2022, Igor made a choice and stood up for what was most precious. The elephant gave his life so that there would be victory, there would be Crimea, there would be freedom, there would be a successful Ukraine, and so that our life with you would continue and be the way Igor loved it: with travel, football, sports competitions, beloved friends, big plans, and even bigger dreams.
Thank you, Elephant.
Eternal memory to the Hero.
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