Valentyn Kovalskyi, severely wounded at Saur-Mohyla in 2014, died. PHOTO

On Friday, May 5, Ukrainian soldier Valentyn Kovalskyi, who was severely wounded in July 2014 in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) zone, passed away

Officer Valerii Lohinov (nicknamed 'Askold') wrote on Facebook, Censor.NET reports.

"Valentyn Kovalskyi served under contract in a sniper squadron of the 95th brigade of highly mobile troops. He was a young, strong, healthy and cheerful guy,'' he wrote.

Before the conflict in the Donbas, he served in the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Donetsk. Then he entered Zhytomyr University to study mechanical engineering.

Valentyn participated in the ATO from the very first days. In spring 2014, he fought at the Arabat Spit near Henichesk in the Kherson region. The soldier was wounded in the battle with Russian hybrid forces near Saur-Mohyla on July 27, 2014.

Parents could not contact Valentyn within three days and suspected something was wrong. A mother of one of the comrades told them that Valentyn was wounded. A 7.62 mm sniper bullet (from a Dragunov sniper rifle) entered the area of the hip and, piercing the pelvis, pierced the body. Hitting the metal plate of the flak jacket, the bullet ricocheted into the abdominal cavity, damaging the intestine.

Valentyn was taken to Kharkiv hospital surgery only nine hours after the injury, already with severe peritonitis. Then he passed through a countless number of operations. He struggled for life for two years.

A young and strong body has exhausted its resource. Valentine died on May 5. He died four days before his 26th birthday.