On the facade of the school in the village of Matsoshyn in the Zhovkva community, a memorial plaque was unveiled and consecrated in honour of 28-year-old Ivan Zhuk, who died defending Ukraine. The commemorative sign was installed so that pupils and fellow villagers would always remember their compatriot serviceman.
For more than two years, Ivan Zhuk served in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as part of the 155th Separate Mechanised Brigade named after Anna of Kyiv. He underwent military training abroad and later carried out combat missions at the front.
According to available information, on 7 June 2026, while on a combat mission in Donetsk region, the soldier was killed. For the residents of Matsoshyn, he remains a bright, kind and cheerful person who always came to help.
“Ivanko was like sunshine. Always cheerful, he was constantly helping his grandmother with the household and took her to church every Sunday. It is very painful that such young people, the flower of the nation, are dying in the war,” recalls the village elder, Mariia Soroka.
In the Zhovkva community they stress that behind every memorial plaque stands a human life, a family, dreams and a future that have been taken away by Russian aggression. The names of the fallen must remain not only in family memory, but also in the consciousness of every generation of Ukrainians.
The installation of the memorial plaque to Ivan Zhuk took place within the Programme for the construction of memorial signs in the Zhovkva community, initiated by Mayor Oleg Volskyi. The aim of this initiative is to immortalise the defenders who gave their lives for Ukraine and to convey their stories to young people.
“It is very important to me that children know the faces of those who left their warm homes and their loved ones to defend the whole of Ukraine. So that, as they walk past these plaques, they understand the price at which our freedom is being won and to whom we owe the opportunity to live, study and build the future,” notes Oleg Volskyi.
After the death of Ivan Zhuk, his wife, little daughter, parents and brother were left in mourning. The community extends its sincere condolences to the defender’s family and friends and assures them that the memory of him and of all those who gave their lives for Ukraine will be preserved.