On 24 May, a commemorative event titled “To Lay Down One’s Life for One’s Friends” was held in honour of the warriors Liubomyr Sochenko and Anton Balanchuk.
Liubomyr Sochenko and his comrade-in-arms Anton Balanchuk served as part of a “Vampire” strike unmanned aerial systems crew of the 65th Separate Mechanised Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Sergeant Liubomyr Sochenko, call sign “Riki”, was the eldest son of the artist and volunteer Maryna Sochenko. His life story was shared by his parents, a former colleague of Liubomyr’s, and others present at the event.
As his mother recalled, Liubomyr was an exceptionally lively and inquisitive boy. As he grew older, he became serious and responsible. He held two university degrees, having graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin. He spoke English fluently and knew Polish. Liubomyr’s father, Petro Deilyk, also spoke warmly about him. Although he was not Liubomyr’s biological father, he had raised him from an early age. At the beginning of the full-scale war, Liubomyr joined the Territorial Defence Forces. He knew that his great-grandfather had been killed at the age of 36 during the Second World War. In his remarks, Stepan Bratsiun, Chairman of the Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists, called Liubomyr a deeply rooted Ukrainian and showed a photograph of him with his parents on the Maidan during the Revolution of Dignity. It is symbolic that Liubomyr’s birthday was on 22 May, followed by Heroes’ Day on 23 May.
Anton Balanchuk was born on distant Sakhalin, where his parents had moved from Ukraine for work. Later, the island would become his call sign. He then returned to his mother’s homeland, Zhytomyr region. In 2004, he went to the Orange Maidan, where he met his future wife, Yuliia. They started a family and had a daughter, Valeriia, whom Anton loved deeply.
While carrying out combat missions in the Zaporizhzhia sector, Liubomyr, Anton and their comrades-in-arms destroyed enemy equipment, fortifications and assault groups. During their service, the crew destroyed more than 20 units of enemy armoured and motor vehicles, 72 occupiers, and disabled or destroyed around 500 fortifications.
Liubomyr and Anton were killed on 16 September 2025 in Zaporizhzhia region as a result of an enemy drone attack.
The meeting was organised by Liubov Krupnyk, Senior Researcher at the War Museum, who noted: “Liubomyr was born in Ukraine, into an artistic family; Anton was born in russia. Each followed his own path, but they made the same choice. Both are worthy of the title Hero of Ukraine.”
During the event, Anton Balanchuk’s family donated the personal belongings the warrior was wearing when he was killed. They will now be preserved in the Museum’s collection.
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