A senior soldier was killed while carrying out a combat mission in the Sumy region. Family members, fellow soldiers, and hundreds of townspeople gathered at Narodna Square to bid farewell to the fallen defender. The hero was buried on the Hill of Glory.
Uzhhorod bowed its heads in deep mourning. The city paid its final respects to its native son—a devoted son of Ukraine, Senior Soldier Serhiy Viktorovych Rudy, who fell in the fight for the independence and territorial integrity of the Motherland. The defender was 44 years old at the time of his death.
The Uzhhorod City Council announced the details of the funeral service and burial.
The Journey from School Days in Uzhhorod to the Canadian IT Industry
Serhiy Rud was born on October 11, 1982:
- Education and Upbringing: The defender spent his childhood and teenage years in Uzhhorod. He attended Uzhhorod Secondary School No. 11 and later earned a higher education degree from the Interregional Academy of Public Administration (MAUP). He later moved to Canada, where he studied at an IT college—it was because of this phase of his life that he earned the combat nickname “Canada” on the front lines;
- Civilian life: After returning, he worked in the retail sector and ran a furniture business at the “Krasnodontsi” market. Family and friends remember Serhiy as a sincere, hardworking man, a caring family man, and a loving father for whom his only son, Nikita, was the meaning of his life.
Loyalty to His Oath and His Final Battle in the Sumy Region
Serhiy Rud joined the ranks of the Ukrainian Defense Forces in May 2024. As a brave warrior and a reliable comrade-in-arms, he carried out complex combat missions on the front lines defending the country:
- The soldier’s life was cut short on October 21, 2026, while carrying out a combat mission near the village of Ivolzhanske in the Sumy region.
Military honors and a commemorative letter from the Commander-in-Chief
Family members, loved ones, comrades-in-arms, servicemen from the Uzhhorod garrison, Mayor Bohdan Andriyiv, and numerous townspeople gathered to see the fallen defender off on his final journey. People greeted and saw off the funeral procession with a living corridor of remembrance, kneeling in respect.
During the memorial service on Narodna Square, a commemorative letter from the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Mykhailo Drapaty, was read aloud as a sign of the Ukrainian nation’s eternal gratitude for the defender’s exemplary and self-sacrificing service.
The funeral procession made its way through the streets of Uzhhorod to the Hill of Glory memorial complex, where Serhiy Rudya was buried with full military honors to the strains of the national anthem and a three-round gun salute.
The hero is survived by his father, wife, and son.
The editorial staff of “Zakarpats’kyi Visnyk” and the residents of the entire region express their deepest condolences to the family, friends, and comrades-in-arms of the fallen soldier. Eternal memory, honor, and glory to the Ukrainian warrior!
Source: Uzhhorod City Council.
