I'm not asking your permission. Stories of three Ukrainian warriors who died before they were 21

War doesn't care about your social standing, money, or age. It takes both experienced warriors and very young people…

18-year-old Maksym Tkach planned to finish building the house and marry.

20-year-old Semen Liashchuk was close to his home and family but rediscovered himself in the army.

20-year-old Bohdan Ishchuk was a conscript and should not have been caught in the war in the first place.

How did these young boys end up on the frontline? What did they manage to achieve in their short lifetimes and what will now never come to be? The young defenders are remembered by their loved ones. 

This text was prepared by the Memorial memory platform that tells the stories of the Ukrainian military and civilians killed by Russia, exclusively for Ukrainska Pravda.

Soldier of the 53rd Mechanized Brigade Maksym Tkach was killed in action at the age of 18 in Donetsk Region

"He came out against a russian tank with a machine gun and distracted the enemy allowing his brothers-in-arms to retreat"

Maksym Tkach was born on the 23rd of October 2003 in the village of Torske, Donestk Region. He spent his childhood in the town of Kreminna, Luhansk Region, raised by his mother alone. The boy wanted to become a director or a boss and loved poetry. He enjoyed writing poems in school and learned each one he read by heart. He even attended a local poetry club "Little Swallows". He also liked football. He played for a local team "Little Cossack" and even trained other boys. 

– I allowed him everything but he always set his own boundaries and knew where to stop. He called every time he was late. He even asked me for dating advice, – says his mother Olha.

As a teenager, Maksym got caught up in a Ukrainian military-patriotic game "Dzhura". It inspired him to consider a military career. After the start of the russian-Ukrainian war in 2014 he watched people he knew go to war and said that he too would not be sitting in the rear for much longer. 

After school, he finished the Mining College in Lysychans where he learned mechanics. There Maksym is remembered as a fighter for justice. In college, he met a girl from a parallel class called Veronica. The couple started dating.  

His friends recall him as a smiling benevolent person, a reliable friend who was always eager to help anyone. Maksym loved life, he tried to live every minute to the maximum while looking forward to the day he would turn 18 and could enlist. His mother tried to persuade him otherwise:

In the autumn of 2021 right after his birthday, Maksym went to the recruitment office. He was offered service in the 53rd Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They warned him that accepting it would mean being sent to the front. The young man agreed. 

First, the young soldier went to Lviv for training. But in just a month they were suddenly moved to the Join Forces Operation territory – near the city of Volnovakha in Donetsk Region. Maksym was glad that his army dream finally came true. He planned to learn several military specializations. He also received a small house as a gift from his grandmother and wanted to add a second story to it before he would turn 30. He planned to start during his upcoming leave in March of 2022. And also marry his beloved Veronica. 

On the 20th of February, 4 days before the russian invasion, Maksym called his mother and told her to pack and leave. He told her they were being relentlessly shelled and that some of his comrades were captured. The young man said that he was afraid of nothing and that he was always carrying two grenades with him – to avoid capture. 

On February 28 the young man called his mother for the last time from a strange number. He told her that he had lost his phone but soon would call her again. 

Olha searched and collected every crumb of information about the fate of her only son. She contacted his military unit, filed a statement to the police, did a DNA test. Olha and her husband evacuated to Kirovohrad Region. She didn't lose hope that her child was still alive. 

On March 25 Olha posted Facebook about the search for her son. She desperately hoped he was a POW. She received a comment from a strange young man who asked her to call him on the phone. When she did the first thing she heard was: "I'm sorry but Maksym is dead."

On March 9 Ukrainian defenders noticed an enemy tank near Volnovakha. The soldier who was supposed to man the post refused to come out. Maksym went instead. He came out with a machine gun against a tank and distracted the enemy. He received grievous wounds to his neck and head. Maksym's body was left behind on the occupied territory.

In April, already in Kirovohrad, Olha finally received official confirmation of her son's death. They didn't give you any details, just "killed as a result of the artillery shelling by the Army of the Russian Federation".

– My only child for whom I lived and breathed has died. I didn't understand what was the point to keep on living. Whatever for? Why… Now I have found a job at a boarding school for children from unfortunate families. Talking to them gives me strength. When Maksym was still alive I told him that I really wanted to adopt a child. He supported me in that, – said Olha.

The loss is also hard to bear for Veronika, Maksym's girlfriend. She supports Olha and her husband, visits them from time to time. The hero's body has not been returned yet.

– We are waiting for the liberation of Volnovakha. At the moment there have been no DNA matches. Now I've got only one wish and one single goal – to find my child and give him a proper burial, – said Maksym's mother. 

Grenadier Semen Liashchuk of the 8th Separate Regiment of the National Guard of Ukraine was killed in action at the age of 20 during the Luhansk counter offensive

"He found himself in the army, he was a heart of the company, the army became Sem's second family"

Semen Liashchuk was born on the 30th of May 2002 in the village of Yaryshiv, Vinnytsia Region. His home on the Dniester river became the boy's favorite place until the end of his life.

Syoma, as his family called him, was active and sociable child. His parents divorced when he was 5 years old. His mother worked a lot while his father lived in a different city so most of the time his sister Karina, 7 years his senior, cared for the boy

His love for cars helped him pick a profession after school – he learned the mechanic technician's trade in Vinnytsia. Still, it failed to spark his interest. In college, he used to come back home every weekend. He told his family he would stay there forever: most of his friends were there, he dated a local girl called Olena – his entire life was in Yaryshiv. 

In December 2020 Semen was conscripted into service in the 8th Ivan Bohun Operative Regiment of the National Guard of Ukraine. He struggled at first because the conscripts weren't allowed to go back home on a leave. After 3 months the young man signed a contract that allowed him to visit home on weekends. 

In November 2021 they were sent to the Joint Operation Forces territory near Avdiivka in Donestk Region. His family worried for him but that was where the young man got infused with patriotism and realized his goal – victory.

After three months in the JOF on Feb 2, they were sent back for rotation and given a month off. However, in just two weeks their commanders warned them to be ready to head out. On February 23 the 8th regiment was summoned closer to their military unit. On the next day Semen was woken up at 5 AM by his mother's call: "Syoma, wake up, war." He said: "Mom, what war? I want to sleep".

On the 24th of February, russian army bombed military units all over Ukraine. Kalynivka in Vinnytsia Region which housed the 8th Regiment of the National Guard was no exception. There were casualties and wounded. Semen was out of reach. They were taken to a field over the hills. Later he managed to let his loved ones know he was alive. Until the supply of food and warm clothes could have been organized the soldiers slept on the ground and had nothing to eat. Semen's comrade found a pack of dry instant ramen in his pocket that they shared between ten men. When the commanders finally sorted out the supplies they were moved to Kyiv.

His next assignment was baptismal by fire – a sweep and a counter-offensive in Kyiv Region in March. In early summer the 8th Regiment went to the outskirts of Severodonetsk in Luhansk Region. Semen seldomly got in touch. The fighting went on non-stop. The city was nearly fully occupied. The enemy forces prevailed. The first battle of the National Guard in the city lasted for 15 minutes – they took heavy losses and had to retreat.

In a few days, the soldiers again headed into Severodonetsk and took the "Azot" Plant. Sem, as his brothers-in-arms called him, showed himself in battle and inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. 

The ring was gradually closing around them. The occupiers shelled the plant constantly trying to smoke out Ukrainian troops. Semen's company was considered the best in the regiment. They left the plant last covering the retreat of the other subunits. 

– We feared the reprisal of the situation with the "Azov" Regiment that had been surrounded. But the boys stood to the last and in the night they got out of there by boats, – says Karina Liashchuk.

On the opposite bank, the defenders made trenches in the woods. There a "Grad" shelling gave Semen his first contusion. He temporarily lost his hearing

His regiment spent the rest of the summer in Donetsk region. In August the defenders were sent home for two weeks. Semen fulfilled an old dream and bought a car he had started saving for when he had first signed the contract. He only got to drive it during his leave. His loved ones noticed significant changes in his personality. He became aggressive, could explode with anger from any trifle but at the same time, he was happy and filled with love to his friends and family. He said that he wanted to marry and have children to leave something after himself. However, he never proposed to his girlfriend. They didn't suspect it would be their last time together. 

– Our Syoma never complained, he held himself together. We had to drag everything out of him. We talked about future plans, what we were going to do for the holidays. He loved New Year's Eve, sweets, and especially decorating the Christmas tree – it was his ritual. But in the last two years, he spent the holidays at war, – said Karina

On September 11 the guardians started a counteroffensive in the village of Bilohorivka in Luhansk Region. Semen called his sister and said: "Everything before this was just an opening act".

On the morning of September 19 Semen tried to call his family and left his dugout to look for a better cell connection He was not successful and returned back down. An enemy drone was circling their positions. The shelling never stopped. Everyone was used to it by no one and paid it no mind. At around 10 AM his commander summoned Sem. A couple of steps in, an enemy mortar flew into his dugout. Semen's head was blown off. His best friend and brother-in-arms Oleksandr Bobrutskiy who was also in the trench died with him. Due to intensive shelling, their bodies could only be retrieved in several hours. 

That day his sister called Semen's commander after finding out that there were some losses. She was informed: "Your brother died today". When his mother found out about her son's demise at first she didn't want to live herself. 

The DNA testing took another month and finally his family was able to bury Semen Liashchuk in his home village that he loved so and where he wanted to spend the rest of his life.

His family awaits the Order For Bravery (grade III) that Sem had been nominated for to put up a plaque on the facade of his school. They often visit his grave. Recently they put up a Christmas tree there like the one he wanted to decorate himself.

The conscript marksman of the 15th Separate Regiment of the National Guard of Ukraine Bohdan Ishchuk was killed in action in Luhansk at the age of 20.

"Bohdan could not stand injustice"

Bohdan Ishchuk was born on the 3rd of June 2001 in the town of Kozyatyn, Vinnytsia Region. He was an obedient and polite child. One time a teacher told the boy's parents: "Not every child can reach for the stars and study well but you can be proud of your son because he is very kind"

From his early years, Bohdan had a heightened sense of justice. He always defended the bullied but despite his strong physique he never picked fights – he knew how to instead explain to the offenders why they were wrong in a way that made them repent. All of his family members and friends knew well that Bohdan could not stand injustice. His friends even nicknamed him "Baloo the Bear" for this trait of his. 

Since childhood, the boy was an athlete. As a teenager, he took Kyokushin Karate and achieved impressive results on the regional level. Later he also started boxing. He grew into a strong and healthy young man who loved sport above everything else. On weekend mornings he went to the stadium, trained there for 3-4 hours, came back home, took a shower, had lunch, and went to the gym, and in the evening he met up with his friends. 

After school, he wanted to follow the path of his father who used to be a policeman, and join the Special Forces. Unfortunately, he didn't pass the tests. His parent convinced him to pick another profession so he learned the trade of the assistant train mechanic in Kozyatyn. He worked for a bit at the locomotive depot and enrolled in a distant learning course at the Rai Transport University in Kyiv. Yet it didn't bring him any joy. 

At the end of 2020, Bohdan was conscripted into the 15th Separate Regiment of the National Guard of Ukraine that was dislocated in the city of Slovyansk in Donestk Region. He passed the medical examination and willingly went to serve. He didn't complain and didn't try to avoid it. After taking the oath they were moved to the city of Rubizhne in Luhansk where Bohdan became the head marksman of his patrol platoon. His subunit patrolled and guarded administrative buildings. The soldiers renovated an old gym in the city. 

During the service, his new commanders noticed Bohdan's special traits: his sense of justice and responsibility. The commander left the young man in charge of the observation post in his absence. Later Bohdan was offered to sign a contract but despite being good at it he did not enjoy military service. 

– I have to repay the debt to my country. I'll finish my service and learn to know everything that is there to know. Dad, I'll feed a cartridge for you. But I won't stay in service, – said Bohdan to his father Oleh. 

When the full-scale war broke out Bohdan had two months left before his demobilization. On February 24 at 6 AM Bohdan called his father: "Dad, war. They woke us up on alarm, I'll call you back later". After that he called from time to time and always said: "I'm fine. Don't worry". He never said anything about the fighting, even to his father, an Anti-Terrorist Operation veteran. Only once he said: "It's scary when the aviation starts firing. That's unpleasant. The rest I can deal with". He said nothing to his mother, on the contrary – he always tried to calm her down.

Later the news came that conscripts were supposed to be taken out of the frontline. Oleh called his son and told him. Bohdan answered him with: "Dad, I won't leave my own".

Bohdan's parents were worried for him. His mother prayed for her son every night. On the 16th of March Bohdan's childhood friend, a national guard Artur Venzhyk was killed in action. The Ishchuks visited Artur's parents to give them moral support. As Oleh was leaving their house he thought: "I pray Bohdan won't die". 

In just 11 days, on the 31st of March, the life of their son was cut short by artillery shelling near the village of Novodruzhesk in Luhansk Region. 

On the night he died at 23:23 his mother felt ill after her prayer. She felt a strong spasm go through her entire body, her breathing hitched, everything ached, she could not move. The feeling lasted around 20 seconds but left behind a sense of anxiety. In the morning Alla told her husband about it. In a few hours when her husband called her she already knew what news he had for her. 

On the 9th day after his death, Bohdan came to his mother in a dream. She told her that he was cold and scared at war and that he missed them very much. He hugged her and left. Alla woke up with the thought that her son asked God's permission to say goodbye. 

Oleh and Alla struggle with the loss of their son. When his body and belongings were brought to them they couldn't make themselves look into Bohdan's backpack. It took his father two weeks to begin going through his son's possessions. In the inner pocket of his uniform, Oleh found a Ukrainian flag. 

– At home, we have nooks with Bohdan's photos, things, flags. We made shelves and picture frames but we can't get ourselves together and put the up. The moment we start doing it we drop hands, – says the deceased's father. 

Soldier Ishchuk was awarded the Order For Courage (grade III) posthumously. The young defender was buried in his hometown of Kozyatyn where one of the streets now carries his name. 

Ksenia Panteleyeva