A 52-year-old junior sergeant was killed back in June 2025 while carrying out a combat mission in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Today, November 12, 2026, the townspeople laid their fellow citizen to rest, accompanying him on his final journey from Narodna Square to the Hill of Glory.
Uzhhorod is once again in mourning for one of its loyal sons. On November 12, 2026, the regional capital of Zakarpattia paid its final earthly respects to the fallen defender of Ukraine — 52-year-old Junior Sergeant Yuriy Georgiyovych Shelak, who gave his life in the fight for the freedom, dignity, and independence of our country.
The Uzhhorod City Council announced the details of the soldier’s funeral.
A Creative Spirit and a Life Devoted to Work and Family
Yuriy Georgiyovych Shelak was born on May 17, 1973, in Uzhhorod—the city with which his entire civilian life was connected:
- Education and interests: He attended Uzhhorod Secondary School No. 2, after which he graduated with honors from Vocational School No. 19. Those close to him knew Yuriy as a cheerful, exceptionally creative, and gifted person: he loved to draw, had a keen sense of music, played the guitar masterfully, and sang beautifully;
- Career: After completing his mandatory military service, he worked as a security guard at the “Druzhba” Hotel; for many years, he worked as a carpenter at Uzhhorod National University, where his colleagues respected him for his skill, diligence, and responsibility; later, he worked for a private security firm;
- Love for His Loved Ones: Above all, Yuriy cherished his family—his mother and brother Ivan, who held onto the hope until the very last moment that their loved one would return home alive.
A Marine’s Combat Journey
In 2024, Yuriy Shelak joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to defend his homeland from Russian occupiers. He served as a rifleman in a Marine Corps squad of Military Unit A4548.
Remaining faithful to his military oath and his comrades until his last breath, Junior Sergeant Yuriy Shelak died heroically on June 19, 2025, while carrying out a combat mission near the village of Dachne in the Synelnykivskyi District of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
Farewell Ceremony on Narodna Square and Burial on the Hill of Glory
His mother and brother Ivan, relatives, friends, former colleagues, comrades-in-arms, military personnel, Mayor Bohdan Andriyiv, and hundreds of concerned Uzhhorod residents gathered at Narodna Square to accompany the defender on his final earthly journey.
The townspeople greeted and saw off the fallen soldier on their knees, bowing their heads in deep mourning. During the farewell ceremony, a commemorative letter from Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykhailo Drapaty was read aloud—as a sign of the Ukrainian people’s highest respect and gratitude for the soldier’s self-sacrificing feat.
After the memorial service, the funeral procession made its way through the central streets of Uzhhorod to the Hill of Glory, where Yuriy Shelak was buried with full military honors to the strains of the Ukrainian National Anthem and a salute of gunfire.
The editorial staff of “Zakarpats’kyi Visnyk” and the residents of the entire region extend their deepest condolences to Yuriy Georgiyovych’s mother, brother Ivan, family, friends, and comrades-in-arms. We share your unspeakable grief during this difficult time.
Eternal memory, honor, and glory to the Defender of Ukraine! Heroes never die.
Source and photo: Uzhhorod City Council.
