August 29 – Day of Remembrance for Fallen Defenders of Ukraine: we honor and remember all the fallen and talk about Jews and Israelis who gave their lives for Ukraine

On August 29, Ukraine annually celebrates the state Day of Remembrance for Defenders who died for the independence and territorial integrity of the country. For an Israeli reader, this date is easiest to understand through Yom HaZikaron — the day when the state remembers its fallen defenders. The Ukrainian memorial date is primarily associated with the Ilovaisk tragedy of August 2014.

On this day, NANovosti decided to compile a list of Jews and Israelis who died defending Ukraine by name. I, Anton Pshedynsky, author of NANovosti Anton Pshedynsky, reviewed our publications archive over the years, cross-referenced names with the Ukrainian list of Jewish war participants, international memorial databases, materials from Jewish communities, and Ukrainian and Israeli media. For each person, I separately verified the circumstances of death, connection to the Jewish community or Israel, service in Ukrainian units, and possible variations of names or surnames.

And separately — for those who still see the war in Ukraine as something distant from Israel. Among the people mentioned below were Israeli citizens, repatriates, people who lived here for many years, served in Israeli security structures, raised children here, or left families in Israel. For their relatives, this war was never distant.

Reducing everything to a single number is impossible. There is no official statistics from the Ukrainian Armed Forces by nationality and religion, and the concepts of “Jew,” “Israeli citizen,” “IDF veteran,” “repatriate,” and “person who lived in Israel” denote completely different biographies.

Moreover, during verification, it turned out that data from different sources do not always match: dates, surname variations, and even the grounds on which a person is associated with Israel differ. In open lists, alongside the deceased, there are living servicemen, severely wounded, and missing persons.

Therefore, we do not call this collection complete or final. It includes those people whose stories we managed to discover and reliably verify using NANovosti materials — News of Israel and open sources.

I also separately checked the awards. Here it is important not to mix different things: state awards of Ukraine, departmental military insignia, city and regional distinctions, and public awards. If the date of the presidential decree and the actual date of the award presentation to the family are known, I indicate both. If it was not possible to reliably establish the award, its status, or date, I do not substitute a guess.

We also sincerely apologize to the relatives and friends of those who died defending Ukraine, but whose names were not included in this publication. Their feat is not forgotten — at the time of preparing the article, we simply could not find enough data to tell about them accurately and responsibly.

The information is current as of August 29, 2026. All links to primary sources are provided at the bottom of the article.

The article does not claim to be academic or the ultimate truth – what is done is done.

In memory of those who fell in the battle for the defense of the homeland — may their memory be blessed

Why exactly August 29: what happened in Ilovaisk in 2014

To understand why Ukraine chose August 29 as its Day of Remembrance for Fallen Defenders, one must return to the early months of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

After the Revolution of Dignity and the flight of President Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014, Russia occupied Crimea. By spring, armed confrontation had spread to eastern Ukraine.

In April, armed groups seized administrative buildings, police stations, and SBU offices in the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. On April 12, a detachment under the command of Russian officer Igor Girkin, also known as Strelkov, captured Sloviansk. Following this, armed formations established control over a number of other cities in Donbas and proclaimed the so-called “DPR” and “LPR.”

For the Israeli reader, a clarification is important here. Donbas is a historical-industrial region in eastern Ukraine, primarily Donetsk and Luhansk regions. It was there that the active ground phase of the war began in the spring of 2014.

On April 14, Ukrainian authorities announced an Anti-Terrorist Operation — ATO. This was the official name for the actions of Ukrainian forces against armed formations in the east of the country. The army, National Guard, Ministry of Internal Affairs units, and volunteer battalions created in the first months of the war participated in them.

By summer, the situation began to change in favor of Ukraine. Ukrainian forces regained Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, and a number of other settlements and continued the offensive. One of the important targets was Ilovaisk — a small town about 40 kilometers from Donetsk, which had strategic significance due to its railway junction and its position on the supply routes of forces controlling Donetsk.

In August 2014, Ukrainian units and volunteer battalions entered Ilovaisk. Heavy street fighting began.

It was at this moment that the war changed dramatically.

Regular units of the Russian army entered Ukrainian territory. They struck, including at the rear of the Ukrainian grouping. The position of the forces that had recently been advancing on Ilovaisk changed in a matter of days: Ukrainian units found themselves almost surrounded.

Thus, the Ilovaisk tragedy did not begin with a “green corridor.” First, there was an attempt by the Ukrainian army to regain control of the city, then direct intervention by regular Russian troops, encirclement, and only after that negotiations for withdrawal.

When it became clear that holding positions in the encirclement was impossible, negotiations began for the safe withdrawal of Ukrainian servicemen.

The Russian side agreed on a withdrawal route.

On the morning of August 29, 2014, Ukrainian units began moving in two columns.

But a safe corridor did not materialize.

The columns were fired upon with heavy weapons.

According to the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory, 366 Ukrainian servicemen were killed, 429 were wounded, 158 went missing, and 300 were captured in the Ilovaisk operation. Earlier official materials contain differing figures for individual categories, so here we use the current data from the Institute of National Memory.

And one more detail, without which it is difficult to understand the symbolism of the current Day of Remembrance.

Ukrainian columns exited the encirclement through fields of ripening sunflowers. At the end of August, they are just in bloom and ripening in the south and east of Ukraine. Among these fields, the fallen servicemen remained.

Therefore, the sunflower became the symbol of August 29 — the Day of Remembrance for Defenders of Ukraine.

The agreement did not save them.

In 2019, Ukraine officially established August 29 as the annual Day of Remembrance for Defenders who died in the struggle for the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of the country.

For an Israeli reader, this date is easiest to understand through the familiar logic of Yom HaZikaron: on this day, the state remembers by name those who died defending the country. The Ukrainian date grew out of the memory of Ilovaisk, but today it is dedicated to all the fallen defenders of Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2014.

What happened in Donbas from 2014 until the full-scale invasion

The war did not end with Ilovaisk.

After the battles of 2014, the Minsk agreements were signed, which were supposed to stop the hostilities. But they did not completely end the war.

In the winter of 2014–2015, heavy fighting continued for Donetsk airport and Debaltseve. It was then that Yevhen Yatsyna died — one of the defenders of Donetsk airport, about whom further details are provided in this article.

After 2015, the front line mostly stabilized. Part of Donetsk and Luhansk regions was controlled by Ukraine, part was under the control of the so-called “DPR” and “LPR,” which relied on Russian support.

Between them appeared a line of contact — essentially a long-standing front line with fortified positions, checkpoints, minefields, and a constant risk of shelling.

The intensity of the war was much lower than in Ilovaisk or Debaltseve, but it did not cease. Snipers operated, artillery and mortar shelling occurred, people died on mines. Both military positions and settlements near the front line came under fire.

Through special checkpoints, this line was crossed by ordinary residents — to see relatives, process documents, receive pensions, or visit a doctor.

Therefore, calling what happened from 2015 to 2021 a complete “freeze” is incorrect. For most of Ukraine, the front might have seemed distant, but for residents of Avdiivka, Maryinka, Stanytsia Luhanska, and other frontline towns, the war remained part of everyday life.

Thousands of servicemen and civilians died over these years.

In 2020, an enhanced ceasefire regime significantly reduced the number of shellings, but did not completely stop hostilities. Already in 2021, the situation began to deteriorate again.

On February 21, 2022, Russia recognized the so-called “DPR” and “LPR.”

And three days later, on February 24, 2022, Russian troops launched a full-scale invasion from several directions.

Thus, between 2014 and 2022, there were not two separate wars with a seven-year pause.

There was one ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war, which in February 2022 transitioned into a much more extensive phase.

That is why among the people we talk about further, there are those who fought and died long before February 24, 2022.

And here begins the story for which we raised the NANovosti archive.

Among these fallen were Ukrainian Jews, Israeli citizens, IDF veterans, graduates of Jewish schools, foreign Jewish volunteers, and people whose families now live in Israel.

Some we have already named by name.

But when I tried to compile their stories in one place, it turned out that even existing lists of the fallen cannot be trusted automatically.

I tried to compile existing lists — and found out why this cannot be done

The starting point was the NANovosti archive.

In the material about the Odessa exhibition “Under the Star of David,” 18 fallen defenders of Jewish origin were compiled: Ali Shabay, Maksym Buligin, Vyacheslav Adamenko, Anton Samborsky, David Starover, Yevhen Yatsyna, Oleksandr Dubovyk, Anton Beskonechny, Semyon Jensen, Andriy Glembozky, Yuriy Urshansky, Maksym Shvartsman, Hennadiy Michel, Andriy Reznikov, Tzvi-Hirsh Zvergazda, Leonid Krasnov, Vladyslav Shein, and Rodion Vayner.

But even this own archive had to be rechecked.

For example, in the old version, Vyacheslav Adamenko was mistakenly dated 2022. A separate NANovosti publication and other data give March 4, 2024 and Luhansk region. David Starover turned out to have died not in 2023, but on April 14, 2024. Oleksandr Dubovyk — not in May 2023, but on December 23, 2022. Vladyslav Shein — November 8, 2022, not February of the following year.

The next layer is the current Ukrainian Wikipedia page “List of Jewish warriors — participants in the Russian-Ukrainian war.”

At the time of this check, there are 63 positions.

But this is not 63 fallen.

The page itself warns that it is not verified. The table simultaneously contains the fallen, the living, the severely wounded, the missing, and people whose current status is not established.

Parallel to this, there is the international Memorial of volunteers and the user Fandom registry of fallen foreigners. They help find new names, but there are discrepancies between them.

The problem is even more evident in the statistics of Jewish organizations.

In September 2024, the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine reported that it helped organize the funerals of 47 Jewish servicemen who died in the war. Federation Chairman Rabbi Meir Stambler then said that the actual number of fallen Jewish soldiers could be in the hundreds.

In June 2025, The Jerusalem Post already cited the Federation’s estimate of about 200 fallen Jewish fighters. The same publication named three recent losses — Tzvi-Hirsh Zvergazda, Andriy Korovsky, and Maksym Nelipa.

This does not contradict the fact that by name in open sources, it is possible to confidently confirm far fewer people.

These are just different levels of data.

The army does not have a public ethnic registry. Not every Jewish serviceman is connected to an organized community. Not every person publicly spoke about their origin or religion.

From Donetsk airport to the end of 2022: people for whom there is already enough evidence

Yevhen Yatsyna, “Benya,” belongs to the first phase of the war. He was one of the Ukrainian “cyborgs” — as the defenders of Donetsk airport are called in Ukraine, who held it in 2014–2015 despite the almost complete destruction of the terminals. The new verification gave a specific date: Yatsyna died on January 21, 2015 in the new terminal of the airport.

On May 15, 2015, Yevhen Yatsyna was posthumously awarded the Order “For Courage” III degree — decree of the President of Ukraine No. 270/2015. Memorial sources also indicate posthumous awarding with the badge “For the Defense of Donetsk Airport,” but I could not establish the exact date of this distinction.

In March 2022, when the Russian army was already trying to capture Kharkiv, Serafim Sabaran died. He was a member of Kharkiv Hillel — an international Jewish student organization. The Jewish Confederation of Ukraine separately confirms that Sabaran died defending his city. The date in the registry is March 14, 2022.

In the WTO “Order” registry, Sabaran is also listed as posthumously awarded the medal “Unbreakable Heroes of the Russian-Ukrainian War”; the entry is dated September 27, 2023. This is a public, not a state award of Ukraine.

Ali Shabay died on May 23, 2022 near Ternova in Kharkiv region. He was long considered missing; the remains were identified later.

On June 28, 2022, Ali Shabay was posthumously awarded the Order “For Courage” III degree — decree of the President of Ukraine No. 449/2022.

Oleksandr Khalif has a different Israeli line. He was born in Berdychiv, lived with his wife in Israel for several years, then returned to Ukraine. After the full-scale invasion, he voluntarily went to serve and died on July 13, 2022 in Donetsk region. Here I consciously do not elevate the status of the connection with Israel: “lived in Israel” is better confirmed than the presence of Israeli citizenship.

Next, one after another, come biographies where the connection with Israel is already direct.

Andriy Glembozky, “Kapa,” repatriated to Israel in his youth. After the war began, he returned to defend Ukraine and died on August 23, 2022 in Kharkiv region.

Dmytro Fialka was born in Lviv, repatriated as a teenager, received Israeli citizenship, served in the IDF, and participated in the Second Lebanon War. From 2008 to 2013, he coached children at “Maccabi Be’er Sheva.”

After returning to Ukraine, Fialka worked in football again. In 2022, he first found himself among volunteers, then in the Ukrainian army, and became a platoon commander of the International Legion of Territorial Defense. This unit was created for foreign volunteers as part of Ukrainian forces.

Fialka died on September 1, 2022, near Bakhmut.

He was buried in the Jewish section of Yaniv Cemetery in Lviv. At the ceremony, two flags stood — Ukrainian and Israeli.

Posthumously, Lviv awarded Fialka the Honorary Sign of Saint George. The award was presented to his family on November 24, 2024. This is a city distinction of Lviv, not a state order of Ukraine — and it should be designated as such to not attribute to Fialka an award of another person with the same surname.

Benjamin Giorgio Galli was not a citizen of either Ukraine or Israel. He came from a religious Jewish Italian-Dutch family and after the Russian invasion, he himself came to Ukraine. He joined the International Legion on March 3, 2022.

His father later detailed to the Italian Jewish publication Mosaico about his son’s Jewish identity — up to how he tried to observe kashrut in the war and carried a Torah with him.

After a severe injury near Kupiansk, Galli died on September 18, 2022.

On January 13, 2023, Benjamin Galli was posthumously awarded the Order “For Courage” III degree — decree No. 16/2023.

Captain Hennadiy Michel had a future in Israel that did not come. He processed documents for repatriation and was going to move, but after the Russian invasion, he stayed to defend Ukraine. He died on October 28, 2022 near Kupiansk after a vehicle explosion on a mine.

On November 4, he was already buried in Israel, at the cemetery in Nahariya.

On February 2, 2023, Hennadiy Michel was posthumously awarded the Order of Danylo Halytsky — decree of the President of Ukraine No. 55/2023.

Andriy Reznikov, “Pero,” left for Israel at 18, received citizenship, completed mandatory service in the Golani Brigade, studied and worked in Ariel. About ten years later, he returned to Ukraine.

After February 24, 2022, he joined the territorial defense. The TDF — these are the Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a military structure created for territorial defense and part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Reznikov died on November 7, 2022 near Yampilivka in Donetsk region.

Posthumously, Andriy Reznikov was awarded the Order “For Courage” III degree. The fact of the award is confirmed, but the number and date of the presidential decree could not be established in the reliable sources available to me.

The next day, November 8, Vladyslav Shein, a young Dnipro athlete and volunteer, died. During the battle, he helped save his comrades. This is one of the dates that had to be corrected after comparing the old exhibition material with a later database.

On March 8, 2023, Vladyslav Shein was posthumously awarded the Order “For Courage” III degree — decree No. 141/2023.

The story of Polish Jew Daniel Peter Stiber — Daniel Sztyber turned out to be even more complicated.

Stieber came to help Ukraine, initially engaged in evacuating people, then joined the Ukrainian forces. His father was associated with the Nozyk Synagogue in Warsaw.

Polish memorial data, the inscription on the grave, and Polish Radio give the date of death as November 25, 2022.

But a Jewish publication from Michigan later wrote that the 35-year-old Stieber died on December 11 near Bakhmut.

I will not pretend that there is no discrepancy.

In the main chronology, I use November 25 because this date is directly on his grave and is confirmed by several Polish sources. I keep the December version as a data conflict.

Ukraine posthumously awarded Stieber the state medal “For Military Service to Ukraine” — decree No. 55/2023 from February 2, 2023. His family received the award in Poland on December 7, 2023.

Jonathan Jeffrey Shenkin is another person whom our initial selection completely missed. The 45-year-old British Jew from Glasgow previously served in the IDF and worked as a paramedic in the Ukrainian army. He died in December 2022. His family reported that the Ukrainian side honored him with a medal, which in English-language publications is called “Valour in Combat”. The official Ukrainian name of this award, the awarding body, and the date could not be established in open sources, so I do not automatically turn it into the “Order of Courage”.

And finally, Alexander Dubovik, “Partisan”.

The old version of our material attributed his death to May 2023. A new check moves the event to December 23, 2022. He was long considered missing, so the later burial date likely became one of the reasons for the confusion.

February 23, 2024, Alexander Dubovik was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage III degree — decree No. 96/2024.

Here it is already visible how little benefit one figure would give.

Even within several biographies of 2022, it is necessary to distinguish the date of death, the date of body discovery, the date of identification, and the date of burial.

In 2023–2025, the list continued to grow — but the biographies became less and less similar to each other.

Rodion Weiner lived in Karmiel and served in the IDF. When the full-scale invasion began, he was in Ukraine and voluntarily joined the Ukrainian army. He died on March 5, 2023 near Bakhmut.

October 30, 2023, Rodion Weiner was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage III degree — decree No. 715/2023.

Leonid Krasnov came from a Dnipro Jewish family, his father led a Jewish school. He served as a scout and went through difficult front sections. His award history is one of the most notable in this selection: August 5, 2020 — state medal “For Military Service to Ukraine”, decree No. 305/2020; May 22, 2022 — Order of Courage III degree, decree No. 359/2022; then the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine badge “Golden Cross”. After Krasnov’s death, he was also awarded the Order of Courage II degree — decree No. 597/2023 from September 28, 2023. His death in 2023 is confirmed; the old material from NANews attributes it to spring.

Maxim Schwartzman, “Marvel,” continued his front-line story in an unexpected way after death.

He was a journalist, photographer, operator, drew, and wrote prose. The family lived in Israel for some time, using Maxim’s right to repatriation; his son was born here. Then the Schwartzmans returned to Chernivtsi.

Maxim died on July 15, 2023 in the Bakhmut direction.

November 16, 2023, Maxim Schwartzman was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage III degree — decree No. 750/2023. The family received the order on July 18, 2024. Biographical sources also mention the regional distinction “For Services to Bukovina,” the Chernivtsi “For the Glory of Chernivtsi,” and the medal “For the Liberation of the Kharkiv Region,” but the exact dates and status of each of these three distinctions require separate verification.

After his death, his wife Marina collected the remaining stories, an unfinished novel, and front-line letters. In 2026, the book “Not About War” was published. Thus, our database included a piece that is not in any loss table: the voice of the deceased himself, preserved after the war in his texts.

Vyacheslav Adamenko — a citizen of Ukraine and Israel, a person with almost 17 years of service experience in Israeli security structures. On the Ukrainian front, he also had the call sign “Israel.”

He died on March 4, 2024 in Luhansk from severe shrapnel wounds. This date and circumstances are confirmed by a separate material from NANews.

In the spring of 2024, two David stories appear that cannot be mixed.

David Starover, a 23-year-old serviceman of the 59th brigade, died on April 14, 2024, near Netailovo. After the battle, he was considered missing. The body was returned only on December 20.

David Shtraber — David Strauber — another person. He was a graduate of the Vinnytsia Jewish school “Or Avner — Chabad.” The last conversation with his father took place on April 23, 2024. Later, DNA confirmed that Shtraber died in a minefield on occupied territory. He could only be buried according to Jewish rites months later.

Anton Beskonechny from Mykolaiv died in the spring of 2024 near Chasiv Yar. He was buried according to Jewish tradition.

There is also a serviceman whom open publications only call Daniel.

He was a Jew with Ukrainian roots, returned to Ukraine, and served in a special unit. After his death, the command contacted the Chief Rabbi of Kyiv, Yonatan Markovich, to ensure halachic burial — according to the norms of Jewish religious law.

The NANews material was published on June 5, 2024 and states that the death occurred the previous weekend. Therefore, June 5 does not turn into an artificially “exact date of death” here.

Maxim Bulygin, “Wolf,” grew up in Zhytomyr, graduated from the Jewish lyceum “Or Avner,” and was connected with the local community. He died on June 10, 2024 during a combat mission.

November 27, 2024, Maxim Bulygin was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage III degree — decree No. 787/2024. The family received the award in Zhytomyr on April 16, 2025.

Semyon Jensen, “Sem,” studied in Jerusalem, then returned to Ukraine and was among the fighters of “Da Vinci’s Wolves.” He died on July 12, 2024 in the Donetsk region.

Anton Samborsky — Matityahu, the adopted son of the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Moshe Asman, was a halachic Jew — that is, a Jew according to the criteria of traditional Jewish law.

He died on July 24, 2024 near Georgiivka in the Donetsk region during a mortar attack.

His funeral in Kyiv became a separate testimony to the scale of Jewish losses: it was after them that the Federation of Jewish Communities reported 47 funerals of Jewish servicemen, in the organization of which it participated.

November 27, 2024, Anton Samborsky was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage III degree — the same decree No. 787/2024. His wife received the order on April 25, 2025. In addition, Samborsky was posthumously noted with the Kyiv medal “Honor. Glory. State”; the memorial materials also mention “Hero’s Cross,” but its status and date I do not mix with the state award.

In February 2025, Oleg Rubin died.

He was born in Dnipropetrovsk in 1991, moved to Israel with his mother as a child, lived in Herzliya and Tiberias, served in the “Kfir” brigade. After Israeli service, he went to defend Ukraine, passed the International Legion and “Da Vinci’s Wolves.”

Rubin died on February 18, 2025.

There is a technical but fundamental problem here: the surname in sources is transmitted as Rubin, Ruben, Ruban, and other variants. This is compounded by the variants Siborunov/Siboronov. If this is not fixed now, one person can easily turn into several “Israelis” in future secondary lists.

Maxim Nelipa was known as a TV presenter and actor before the war. After the invasion, he volunteered to serve, was wounded, recovered, and returned to the front.

He died on May 12, 2025.

He was born in October 1976. His son Artem repatriated to Israel and served in the IDF, in “Golani.”

September 12, 2025, Maxim Nelipa was posthumously awarded the Order of Merit III degree — decree No. 680/2025.

Binyamin Asher, “Nemo,” was a 21-year-old Hungarian Jew. No Ukrainian civil obligation existed before him: he came himself and joined the Ukrainian forces.

Asher died on May 24, 2025 in Kharkiv region. Due to the combat situation, the body could not be evacuated for a long time; Jewish funerals in Kyiv took place only in November.

Posthumously, Binyamin Asher was noted with the departmental badge of the Ministry of Defense “Iron Cross”, and then the Order of Courage III degree. The number and date of the presidential decree on the order I have not reliably established. February 25, 2026 in Toronto, he was also posthumously awarded the medal “For Self-Sacrifice”; this is a separate public recognition, not a state Ukrainian award.

Four days later, on May 28, Andrey Korovsky — in some sources Kurovsky, a 32-year-old teacher of the Zhytomyr school “Or Avner” and a drone operator, died.

He was already wounded, recovered, and returned to the front line.

The cause of death is important: heart attack on the front. The Federation of Jewish Communities reported that this happened during a Russian assault on positions.

In early June, Tsvi-Hirsh — Grigory Zvergazda, “Grinch” died. In the old material from NANews, the surname was transmitted differently — “Zvirgze.”

He grew up in the Jewish environment of Odessa, studied in the “Or Avner — Chabad” system, served in the 34th separate coastal defense brigade. He left behind small children.

The Jerusalem Post reported another human detail: by profession, he was a chef and dreamed of opening a high-level kosher restaurant in Odessa.

September 30, 2025, Tsvi-Hirsh Zvergazda — in the presidential decree, the surname is transmitted as ZVIRGZDE Grigoriy Igorovich — was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage III degree, decree No. 698/2025. Biographical materials also name the “Golden Cross,” the “Shield of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine” badge, and the “For Service in Intelligence” medal, but the exact dates of these three distinctions have not yet been established.

And almost on the eve of the current Memorial Day, Yuriy Urshansky, an officer associated with the Jewish community of Uzhgorod, died. He commanded self-propelled artillery and died on August 26, 2025 in the Zaporizhzhia region after an attack by a Russian FPV drone.

There are the deceased whom I name — but refuse to turn doubt into an established fact.

This is the most uncomfortable part of the list.

And that is precisely why it is necessary.

Denis, whose surname is not reliably established, appears in one of the registers as an Israeli volunteer who died on February 14, 2023, near Soledar. The version “Denis Savchenko” is encountered, but I have not yet been able to connect it with this person with a reliable independent source.

Therefore, the article remains Denis — without an invented surname.

Andrey Yurchenko is listed in international memorial lists in the Israel section. The Ukrainian register indicates death on March 31, 2024, but directly acknowledges the problem: one of the links no longer works, and the place of death and burial is not established.

I name Yurchenko because he exists in several registers.

But I do not name him as a confirmed citizen of Israel.

David Chichkan, a well-known Ukrainian artist and serviceman, was seriously wounded on August 9, 2025 while repelling a Russian assault in the Zaporizhzhia direction and died the next day. The fact of his death is independently confirmed.

The problem is different.

He was included in the Jewish list, and Rabbi Moshe Asman also saw him off on his last journey. But the participation of a rabbi in the funeral does not in itself prove the person’s origin.

I have not yet found an independent source directly establishing Chichkan’s Jewish origin.

Therefore, the status here is exactly this: a deceased serviceman included in the Jewish register; the basis for inclusion requires additional confirmation.

A very similar situation with Konstantin Guzenko.

The 28-year-old photographer and media producer volunteered to serve, became a staff sergeant of the 35th separate marine brigade, and died on November 1, 2025 during a Russian attack in eastern Ukraine. This is confirmed by Ukraïner and Ukrainian state sources.

But the current Jewish register itself writes that his belonging to Judaism “is being established.” Among the grounds is information about a brother associated with a synagogue.

The Jewishness of a relative does not automatically establish the origin of Guzenko himself.

Therefore, the fact of death is confirmed.

Jewish affiliation — not yet.

November 15, 2025, Konstantin Guzenko was posthumously awarded the Order of Merit III degree. This is a state award, but in this case, it was associated with a contribution to Ukrainian media, professionalism, and selfless work in documenting the full-scale invasion, and does not serve as proof of Jewish origin.

Boris Urshansky, the father of Yuriy Urshansky, fought since 2014 and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. But he died on July 21, 2025, from an oncological disease.

He remains in this material as a veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Vladislav Holenkov died in the Ukrainian army. His younger brother Mark is a footballer who moved to Israel and is associated with “Maccabi Haifa.”

Rafael Nikanorov is needed in the article precisely as an example of registry error.

Initially, the message about his death spread with the claim that an Israeli died. Later, the source itself released a correction: the fighter turned out not to be an Israeli.

If secondary sites rewrote the first message and did not notice the second, the error begins to live its own life.

Pavel Bessarab is present in the user Fandom register as an Israeli volunteer. At the same time, detailed Ukrainian publications about the deceased serviceman and Hero of Ukraine did not provide reliable confirmation of either Israeli citizenship or an Israeli stage of biography.

Even the date in the user register diverges from Ukrainian sources.

Therefore, the name is indicated.

Bessarab is not included in confirmed Israelis.

Bessarab’s awards are confirmed: April 5, 2022 — distinction “Defender of Ukraine, hero of the city of Sumy”; December 5, 2022 — “For Services to Sumy Region” III degree; March 14, 2023 — city distinction “For Services to the City” II degree; December 15, 2023 — Ministry of Defense distinction “Iron Cross” No. 1622. In 2025, posthumously followed the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky III degree and the title Hero of Ukraine with the Order “Golden Star”. The president’s response to the petition confirms the very fact of the decree on the title of Hero of Ukraine, although the text of the decree is not published in open access, according to available data.

Bari Bonen was an Israeli citizen and helped Ukraine. Some databases include him in the lists of deceased Israeli volunteers.

But Bonen did not die in battle.

He was found dead in an apartment in Kyiv back on September 10, 2018. The police considered the version of suicide, people from his environment disputed it.

This is a separate story, not a front-line loss.

Konstantin Mrochko also remains here consciously.

He lived and worked in Israel for a long time, participated in the creation of a farm near Carmel; after his death, Israeli friends even named a wine in his honor.

But the own publication of NANews contains direct words of people who knew him: “he was not a Jew”. We also did not find confirmed Israeli citizenship.

Therefore, this is a Ukrainian hero with an important Israeli chapter of biography, not a proven “deceased Israeli.”

At the same time, Mrochko’s military merit is assessed at the highest state level: March 12, 2022, he was posthumously awarded the title Hero of Ukraine with the presentation of the order “Golden Star” — decree No. 127/2022. This award does not cancel our reservation about origin and citizenship.

And finally, Artem Reznik, a 30-year-old Jew from Kharkiv.

He indeed died on December 29, 2023 during a Russian missile strike.

But he was a civilian.

He cannot be mixed with Andrey Reznikov, a veteran of the IDF and a serviceman of the Ukrainian army.

Accuracy here means not only finding more names.

Sometimes it means timely removing a person from the wrong category.

Missing persons and those for whom there has long been no reliable data

It is necessary to separately mention the citizens of Israel and Jews who participated in the war, whose fate today remains unknown or insufficiently confirmed.

In January 2026, the Israeli investigative project ‘Shomrim’ reported, citing the Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters for Prisoners of War: at least 12 Israeli citizens are listed as missing or held in Russian captivity.

Most of them fought in the ranks of the Ukrainian army. A smaller part found themselves in combat zones under other circumstances. It mainly concerns people with dual Israeli-Ukrainian citizenship.

The names of these twelve are not publicly disclosed.

The Ukrainian Embassy in Israel separately confirmed to journalists at least eight missing Israelis. At the same time, the actual number may be higher: not all holders of two passports reported their second citizenship to the Ukrainian or Israeli authorities.

This is one of the reasons why our name-by-name search fundamentally cannot provide a complete list.

Individual cases are known from open sources.

Vladimir Beznosov, a religious Jew from Odessa, was seriously injured and is listed as missing.

Denis Semin, whom the Ukrainian list of Jews – participants in the war associates with the Brodsky Synagogue in Kyiv, is also listed as missing.

But it cannot be automatically assumed that they are among the twelve Israeli citizens reported by ‘Shomrim’: there is no published name list.

This is fundamental: missing is not dead. Until a person’s death is confirmed, they cannot be included in the memorial list of the deceased.

There is still insufficient open data on Igor Krais to confidently establish the current status. However, additional verification provided an important correction for Roman Kandybur and Igor Kovalenko: both are alive. In January 2026, Kandybur publicly spoke as the commander of the mobile group ‘Cultural Landing’, and Kovalenko remains publicly active as a serviceman.

Mikhail Milman, a native of Donetsk and an Israeli citizen, previously served in the IDF, and after the full-scale invasion, he came to Ukraine and joined the International Legion. We have not yet found reliable current information about his current situation.

The same caution must be exercised with Merab Shalalashvili, described as a Georgian Jew and Israeli citizen who served in the International Legion, and with volunteer paramedic Michael Jonah.

There is also a serviceman known only by the call sign ‘Izya’. It is known that he was injured, but there is insufficient fresh reliable data about his current condition.

The ‘Shomrim’ investigation also mentions another important episode: an Israeli citizen who fought in Ukraine told journalists about his Israeli comrade who died near Bakhmut. The name of this person is known to the editors, but it has not been publicly disclosed.

There is also a confirmed case of release from captivity: Vladimir Kozlovsky, an Israeli citizen, was captured by Russia in 2022 and was later released.

All these stories remain under our review. But until there is official confirmation of death or exact current status, we will not fill the gap with speculation.

That is why in this material we only talk about those fates that have been confirmed by open data, and separately note cases where information is still insufficient.

Known Jews and Israelis who defended and continue to defend Ukraine

A separate article is deserved by people who cannot be listed here in detail. The participation of Jews and Israelis in the defense of Ukraine is not only the story of the fallen and not only service with weapons in hand.

Since 2014, and especially after the full-scale Russian invasion, Ukrainian Jews, together with the rest of Ukrainian society, have been resisting Russian aggression in various ways. Some fight as part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other defense units. Others engage in volunteering, helping the army, the wounded, evacuees, and the families of servicemen. Rabbis and Jewish communities provide humanitarian and spiritual support, helping their congregants and servicemen.

And dozens of Jewish communities across Ukraine continue to do what in wartime conditions has itself become a form of resilience: living a Jewish life under sirens, missile and drone attacks — conducting prayers, celebrating Shabbat and holidays, teaching children, supporting synagogues and communities, and burying the dead according to Jewish tradition.

Listing all these people in one article is impossible, and we do not even set ourselves such a task. Here we are talking specifically about servicemen, veterans, and people directly involved in the defense of Ukraine, whom we managed to identify from open sources.

Denis Desyatnik is one of the most famous examples. An Israeli who repatriated from Uzbekistan, he served for many years in the IDF and special units of the Israeli police. After the Russian invasion, he came to Ukraine, initially helping to evacuate people, then served in the structure of Ukrainian military intelligence and was involved in training fighters. Later he returned to Israel. The last reliable public confirmation we found was his interview in the summer of 2024.

Tsvi Arieli participated in the training of Ukrainian units from the early years of the war. In May 2016, Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov awarded him personalized award weapons for assistance in training units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. This is a departmental form of encouragement, not a presidential order.

Arie Ben-Yehuda, associated with Israel, fought for Ukraine and survived injuries.

Moshe Bizsemov, a Jewish serviceman from Mykolaiv and commander of a drone reconnaissance group, continued his service; NANovosti has already separately reported about him to the Israeli reader.

Andrey Chernetsky went through Bakhmut, survived several injuries, and publicly spoke about his Jewish identity and motivation to defend Ukraine.

Viktor Kovchak, a graduate of ‘Or Avner – Chabad’, received a severe injury, after which the lower part of his body was paralyzed. He survived.

Igor Tish – Yakov-David, a former IDF serviceman, covered two subordinates during a Russian strike and lost part of his arm. He also survived.

Grigory Pivovarov repatriated to Israel as a child, served in ‘Golani’, and has been defending Ukraine since 2014. After several injuries and concussions, he continued his service; as of May 2026, he was engaged in recruiting. Pivovarov is one of the most decorated living heroes of this selection: he is a full knight of the Order ‘For Courage’ – III, II, and I degrees, has the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky III degree, the medal ‘Defender of the Fatherland’, was awarded the medal ‘For Injury’ four times, and has other departmental signs. In March 2023, the receipt of the II degree was already confirmed, and by May 2025, the Verkhovna Rada reported that after being awarded the I degree, he became a full knight.

Among Ukrainian servicemen, there are also Jewish chaplains. Dmitry (David) Milman, call sign ‘Rebbe’, is an assistant to the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Moshe Asman. On April 20, 2023, his powers as a clergyman in the Armed Forces of Ukraine were approved by the head of the Military Chaplaincy Service, Colonel Alexei Tereshchuk. At that time, Milman was called the first and only rabbi officially cooperating with the Armed Forces of Ukraine in matters of spiritual-religious and humanitarian support for servicemen and their families. On April 7, 2025, Milman was entered into the register of those awarded the order ‘For the Development of Ukraine’ at the presentation of the commander of the military unit. Here it is fundamentally important: this is a public award of the WTO ‘Order’, not a state order of Ukraine.

Igor Sinyakov, Jewish name Yakov Pinchas, signed a contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2025, received the official right to carry out chaplaincy activities, and in the rank of junior lieutenant headed the chaplaincy service of the 7th Rapid Reaction Corps of the Air Assault Forces. In the publications of the corps, he was called the first official Orthodox Jewish officer-chaplain of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In the official material of the corps, he is listed with a presidential award ‘For the Defense of Ukraine’, although I have not yet established the exact date of receipt. On December 6, 2023, he received a commemorative sign of the 93rd Brigade ‘Cold Yar’, and on March 6, 2025 in Dnipro — a commemorative medal ‘Defender of the Fatherland’; the latter should not be confused with the eponymous state medal.

Tamir Elboim worked as a military medic, Eyal Israeli served in a marine reconnaissance unit.

Yevgeny Rozenblit, a native of Chernobyl, serves in the Ukrainian army; his sister lives in Tirat Carmel. In the spring of 2026, he was entered into the National Register of Records of Ukraine and awarded a specially created sign ‘Steel Cross of the Heroes of Chernobyl’. This is a commemorative public recognition, not a state military award.

Viktor Fray, a former IDF tanker, fought in Ukraine, suffered concussions and severe injuries.

Natan Khazin, a participant in the Maidan, was at the origins of Ukrainian aerial reconnaissance.

David Cherkassky, a Chabadnik and officer of territorial defense, left military service after a severe injury and is engaged in volunteering. His father Alexander Cherkassky – Asher-Yosef, an Orthodox Jew, has been participating in the defense of Ukraine since 2014. In September 2016, at a meeting of the Dnipro City Council, Alexander Cherkassky received a medal for volunteer activity from a representative of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate. This is not a state military award.

There is also a serviceman known by the call sign ‘Hasid’, a veteran of Ukrainian forces and an instructor. On November 22, 2025, it was reported that he was awarded a medal International Police Association (IPA) for professionalism, courage, and contribution to defense. This is an international public-police award, not a state order of Ukraine.

Roman Kandybur, who was left with an unclear status in early open lists, is actually alive: in January 2026, he publicly spoke as the commander of the mobile group ‘Cultural Landing’.

Igor Kovalenko, a Ukrainian chess grandmaster and serviceman, is also alive and publicly active. On September 13, 2023, he was awarded the Order ‘For Courage’ III degree; the next day, the Chess Federation reported on the personal presentation of the order by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

For other people from this section — in particular Denis Desyatnik, Arie Ben-Yehuda, Moshe Bizsemov, Andrey Chernetsky, Viktor Kovchak, and Igor Tish — I did not find sufficiently reliable open confirmation of a specific Ukrainian state or departmental award. This does not mean that they definitely did not have awards: only that I do not want to attribute someone else’s decree or unconfirmed distinction to a person.

This is already a separate big story: who among Israelis and Ukrainian Jews fought and continues to serve, how the former IDF experience turned out to be in demand in Ukraine, and why some of these people returned to service after severe injuries.

In the memorial material, we can only outline this line.

This is already a separate big story — about Ukrainian Jews and Israeli citizens who fought and are fighting for Ukraine, train its servicemen, save the wounded, serve as chaplains, and continue to help the army after severe injuries.

But beyond this list, there are even more people: rabbis, volunteers, employees of Jewish organizations, families of servicemen, and ordinary community members, who have lived all these years together with all of Ukraine under Russian attacks and continue to maintain Jewish life in the country.

In this memorial material, we deliberately limit ourselves to servicemen and those who directly participated in the defense of Ukraine. The history of the entire Jewish community of Ukraine during this war is much broader.

In memory of those who fell in the battle for the defense of the homeland — may their memory be blessed

Names we found: the deceased, missing, and cases requiring clarification

Below we have compiled in one place all the deceased and missing persons discovered during the preparation of this material — in the NANovosti archive, publications of Jewish communities, Ukrainian and Israeli media, memorial projects, and open lists of war participants.

This is not a complete list of all Jews and Israeli citizens who died or went missing in the Russian-Ukrainian war. Such an open state register does not exist, and some names known to Israeli and Ukrainian authorities have not been published at all.

Deceased defenders of Ukraine whom we managed to identify by name

1. Yevgeny Yatsina (‘Benya’) — a Jew, defender of Donetsk airport; died on January 21, 2015. Posthumously awarded the Order ‘For Courage’ III degree, decree No. 270/2015 of May 15, 2015.
2. Serafim Sabaransky — a participant of Kharkiv Hillel; died defending Kharkiv in March 2022. Posthumously noted with the public medal ‘Unbreakable Heroes of the Russian-Ukrainian War’, entry of September 27, 2023.
3. Ali Shabay — a Jewish serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine; died on May 23, 2022, in the Kharkiv region. Posthumously awarded the Order ‘For Courage’ III degree, decree No. 449/2022 of June 28, 2022.
4. Alexander Khalif — a Ukrainian serviceman who lived in Israel for several years; died on July 13, 2022.
5. Andrey Glembotsky (‘Kapa’) — a repatriate associated with Israel; died on August 23, 2022.
6. Dmitry Fialka (‘Shif’) — a Jew, Israeli citizen, IDF veteran, and former coach of ‘Maccabi Be’er Sheva’; died on September 1, 2022. Posthumously noted with the Lviv Honorary Sign of Saint George; the award was presented to the family on November 24, 2024.
7. Benjamin Giorgio Galli — an Italian-Dutch Jew, volunteer of the International Legion; died from wounds on September 18, 2022. Posthumously awarded the Order ‘For Courage’ III degree, decree No. 16/2023 of January 13, 2023.
8. Gennady Michel — a Jewish officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, associated with Israel; died on October 28, 2022. Posthumously awarded the Order of Danilo Galitsky, decree No. 55/2023 of February 2, 2023.
9. Andrey Reznikov (‘Pero’) — an Israeli citizen, veteran of the ‘Golani’ brigade; died on November 7, 2022. Posthumously awarded the Order ‘For Courage’ III degree; the number and date of the decree have not yet been established.
10. Vladislav Shein (‘Typhoon’) — a Jewish volunteer; died on November 8, 2022. Posthumously awarded the Order ‘For Courage’ III degree, decree No. 141/2023 of March 8, 2023.
11. Daniel Peter Stiber (Daniel Sztyber) — a Polish Jewish volunteer; the main confirmed date of death is November 25, 2022, although other sources indicate a different date. Posthumously awarded the state medal ‘For Military Service to Ukraine’, decree No. 55/2023 of February 2, 2023; presented to the family on December 7, 2023.
12. Jonathan Jeffrey Shenkin — a British Jew, former IDF serviceman, and paramedic of the Ukrainian army; died in December 2022. The family reported a medal ‘Valour in Combat’ / ‘for valor in combat’, but the official Ukrainian name and date have not been established.
13. Alexander Dubovik (‘Partisan’) — a Jew associated with Israel; died on December 23, 2022. Posthumously awarded the Order ‘For Courage’ III degree, decree No. 96/2024 of February 23, 2024.
14. Rodion Vayner — lived in Israel and served in the IDF; died on March 5, 2023, near Bakhmut. Posthumously awarded the Order ‘For Courage’ III degree, decree No. 715/2023 of October 30, 2023.
15. Leonid Krasnov (‘Month’) — a serviceman from a Jewish family in Dnipro; died in 2023. Awarded the medal ‘For Military Service to Ukraine’, ‘Golden Cross’, the Order ‘For Courage’ III degree, and posthumously — II degree of this order.
16. Maxim Shvartsman (‘Marvel’) — a Jewish serviceman, writer, and journalist who lived with his family in Israel for some time; died on July 15, 2023. Posthumously awarded the Order ‘For Courage’ III degree, decree No. 750/2023 of November 16, 2023; the order was presented to the family on July 18, 2024.
17. Vyacheslav Adamenko (‘Israel’) — a citizen of Ukraine and Israel, who served for many years in Israeli security structures; died on March 4, 2024.
18. David Starover — a Jewish serviceman of the 59th brigade; died on April 14, 2024, near Netailovo.
19. David Straber (David Strauber) — a serviceman from the Vinnytsia Jewish community, a graduate of ‘Or Avner – Chabad’; died in the spring of 2024, death later confirmed by DNA.
20. Anton Beskonechny — a Jewish serviceman from Mykolaiv; died in the spring of 2024 near Chasov Yar.
21. Daniel, surname not publicly named — a Jewish serviceman of a special unit of Ukraine; died in the spring of 2024 and was buried according to Jewish rites.
22. Maxim Bulygin (‘Wolf’) — a graduate of Zhytomyr ‘Or Avner’ and a member of the Jewish community; died on June 10, 2024. Posthumously awarded the Order ‘For Courage’ III degree, decree No. 787/2024 of November 27, 2024; presented to the family on April 16, 2025.
23. Semyon Jensen (‘Sem’) — a Jewish serviceman who previously studied in Jerusalem; died on July 12, 2024.
24. Anton Samborsky — Matityahu — the adopted son of the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Moshe Asman; died on July 24, 2024. Posthumously awarded the Order ‘For Courage’ III degree, decree No. 787/2024 of November 27, 2024; the wife received the order on April 25, 2025. Also noted with the Kyiv medal ‘Honor. Glory. State’.
25. Oleg Rubin — grew up in Israel, served in the IDF in the ‘Kfir’ brigade, then defended Ukraine; died on February 18, 2025. Different surname variants are found in sources.
26. Maxim Nelipa — a Ukrainian actor and serviceman with Jewish roots; died on May 12, 2025. Posthumously awarded the Order ‘For Merit’ III degree, decree No. 680/2025 of September 12, 2025.
27. Benyamin Asher (‘Nemo’) — a 21-year-old Hungarian Jewish volunteer; died on May 24, 2025. Posthumously noted with the departmental sign of the Ministry of Defense ‘Iron Cross’ and the Order ‘For Courage’ III degree; on February 25, 2026, also received a public medal ‘For Self-Sacrifice’ in Toronto.
28. Andrey Korovsky / Kurovsky — a teacher at the Jewish school ‘Or Avner’ and a drone operator; died on the front from a heart attack on May 28, 2025.
29. Tsvi-Hirsh Zvergazda (‘Grinch’) — an Odessa Jew, a graduate of ‘Or Avner – Chabad’; died in June 2025. Posthumously awarded the Order ‘For Courage’ III degree, decree No. 698/2025 of September 30, 2025.
30. Yuri Urshansky — an officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, associated with the Jewish community of Uzhgorod; died on August 26, 2025, after a Russian FPV drone attack.

Deceased and dead, whom we also discovered, but include only with a caveat

31. David Chichkan — a Ukrainian artist and serviceman; died on August 10, 2025, from wounds received at the front. He is included in the Jewish list, but independent confirmation of his Jewish origin has not yet been found.
32. Konstantin Guzenko — a photographer and serviceman of the 35th Marine Brigade; died on November 1, 2025. The Jewish list itself indicates that his belonging to Judaism is still being established. Posthumously awarded the Order ‘For Merit’ III degree on November 15, 2025.
33. Andrey Yurchenko — appears in several memorial projects as a representative of Israel; the death is indicated as March 31, 2024, but reliable independent confirmation of Israeli citizenship and the circumstances of death is insufficient.
34. Denis, surname not established — mentioned in international lists as an Israeli volunteer who died on February 14, 2023, near Soledar. The surname variant ‘Savchenko’ is not considered confirmed.
35. Vladislav Golenkov — a Ukrainian serviceman who died in the war, brother of footballer Mark Golenkov, associated with Israel. The Jewishness or Israeli citizenship of Vladislav himself has not been confirmed by us.
36. Pavel Bessarab — a Ukrainian serviceman who died in January 2025. One of the user memorial projects calls him an Israeli volunteer, but reliable confirmation of this connection has not been found. Awarded a number of local and departmental distinctions, the ‘Iron Cross’ of the Ministry of Defense, and posthumously — the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky III degree and the title Hero of Ukraine with the ‘Golden Star’ order.
37. Konstantin Mrochko — died defending Ukraine after several years of living and working in Israel. At the same time, people who knew him here directly told NANovosti that he was not Jewish; confirmation of Israeli citizenship is also absent. Hero of Ukraine with the ‘Golden Star’ order, posthumously, decree No. 127/2022 of March 12, 2022.
38. Rafael Nikanorov — after the report of death, was initially named an Israeli, but later the source itself corrected this information: he was not an Israeli.
39. Boris Urshansky — father of Yuri Urshansky, a veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war and a lieutenant colonel; died on July 21, 2025, from an oncological disease. He does not belong to those who died in battle.
40. Bari Bonen — an Israeli citizen who helped Ukraine; died in Kyiv in 2018. He did not die in combat, so we do not include him in the list of fallen defenders.
41. Artem Reznik — a 30-year-old Jew from Kharkiv, died on December 29, 2023, during a Russian missile strike. He was a civilian, not a serviceman.

Missing persons and Israelis in Russian captivity

According to the Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters for Prisoners of War, published by the investigative project ‘Shomrim’ in January 2026, at least 12 Israeli citizens are considered missing or held in Russian captivity in connection with the war in Ukraine. Most of them fought on the Ukrainian side. Their names are not publicly disclosed. This number cannot be mechanically added to the surnames listed below — we do not know if they are included in these twelve.

42. Vladimir Beznosov — a religious Jew from Odessa; after a severe injury, he is listed as missing.
43. Denis Syomin — associated with the Brodsky Synagogue in Kyiv; listed as missing in the open list.

People for whom there has long been no sufficiently reliable current data

We do not call them missing if such an official status was not found, and even more so do not record them as deceased:

44. Igor Krais — insufficient current data.
45. Mikhail Milman — a native of Donetsk, an Israeli citizen and former IDF soldier, who came to fight for Ukraine; no fresh reliable confirmation of the current status.
46. Merab Shalalashvili — appears as a Georgian Jew and Israeli citizen who served in the International Legion; current status not established.
47. Michael Jonah — volunteer paramedic with Donetsk roots; current status not established.
48. “Iza” — a serviceman known only by the call sign; known about his injury, but we could not find fresh reliable information about his further condition.

Thus, after additional verification of the status of Roman Kandybur and Igor Kovalenko, we individually consider 48 deceased, dead, missing, or people with an unestablished status. Kandybur and Kovalenko are excluded from this count as alive and moved above to the section about those who defended and are defending Ukraine. And this figure still does not represent the number of Jewish and Israeli casualties in the war.

It cannot simply be added to at least 12 unnamed Israeli citizens whom Ukrainian authorities consider missing or held in Russian captivity: some of these people may theoretically overlap with the names known to us, and their identities are not publicly disclosed.

Therefore, the main result of our work remains not the number.

The main thing is to preserve the names of those who were identified, honestly indicate doubts where documents are insufficient, and not call a person deceased whose fate is still unknown.

Sources and working links:

1. List of Jews — participants of the Russian-Ukrainian war in Ukrainian Wikipedia
2. NANovosti — “Under the Star of David”
3. NANovosti — Maxim Bulygin
4. NANovosti — Vyacheslav Adamenko
5. NANovosti — Anton Samborsky / Matityahu
6. NANovosti — Evgeny “Benya” Yatsina
7. NANovosti — Maxim Schwartzman, “Not about the war”
8. NANovosti — Tzvi-Hirsch Zvergazda
9. NANovosti — David Shtraber
10. NANovosti — Dmitry Fialka
11. NANovosti — Jewish servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Moshe Bizsemov and Andrey Chernetsky
12. NANovosti — Maxim Nelipa and his son in the IDF
13. NANovosti — Benjamin Asher
14. NANovosti — Halachic funeral of serviceman Daniel
15. NANovosti — Konstantin Mrochko and his Israeli biography
16. NANovosti — Vladislav and Mark Golenkov
17. NANovosti — Jewish servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, material from August 19, 2026
18. NANovosti — at least 12 Israeli citizens missing or held in Russian captivity
19. Memorial — International Volunteers for Ukraine, section Israel
20. Fandom — List of Israeli volunteers killed fighting for Ukraine
21. “Shomrim” — investigation about Israeli citizens missing or held in Russian captivity
22. Shomrim — Israelis missing or held by Russia after fighting in Ukraine
23. N12 / Mako — at least 12 Israelis missing or held in Russian captivity
24. Jewish Confederation of Ukraine — Serafim Sabaransky, Igor Tish, and Jewish servicemen of Ukraine
25. Mosaico — Benjamin Giorgio Galli and his Jewish family
26. The Times of Israel — Jonathan Jeffrey Shenkin, British Jew and IDF veteran
27. Polish Radio — Daniel Piotr Shtiber
28. Ukrainian Necropolis in Poland — Daniel Shtiber and the date November 25, 2022
29. Washtenaw Jewish News — Daniel Shtiber, Jewish origin and alternative version of the date of death
30. The Forward / JTA — Anton Samborsky and data on deceased Jewish servicemen of Ukraine
31. The Jerusalem Post — Tzvi-Hirsch Zvergazda, Andrey Korovsky, Maxim Nelipa, and assessment of Jewish losses
32. Haaretz / Espreso — Israeli citizens who fought and died for Ukraine
33. Espreso — Israelis who fought and died for Ukraine
34. Ukrinform — Alexander Khalif and his biography related to Israel
35. Euronews — David Chichkan: death on the frontline
36. Ukraïner — Konstantin Guzenko
37. Ministry of Culture of Ukraine — Konstantin Guzenko and his service
38. Institute of Mass Information — death of Konstantin Guzenko
39. 7 Channel Israel — Artem Reznik, a Jew from Kharkiv, killed in a Russian strike
40. Correction of information about Rafael Nikanorov, mistakenly named as an Israeli
41. The Irish Times — Bari Bonen, an Israeli citizen who helped Ukraine
42. Dialog.UA — Denis Desyatnik, Israeli veteran and participant in the war in Ukraine
43. Gazeta.ua — Denis Desyatnik, service in the IDF and Israeli special units
44. TSN — Denis Desyatnik about Israel, Ukraine, and the war
45. Official register of decrees of the President of Ukraine — state awards and decrees mentioned in the article