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Aliaksiej Skoblia

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In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Mikalajevič and the family name is Skoblia.
Aliaksiej Skoblia
Native name
Аляксей Скобля
Nickname(s)Тур (Bison)
Born(1990-03-14)14 March 1990
Minsk, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union (now Belarus)
Died13 March 2022(2022-03-13) (aged 31)
Outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine
Allegiance Ukraine
Service / branchTerritorial Defence Forces
RankSenior sergeant
UnitKastuś Kalinoŭski Regiment
Battles / wars
AwardsHero of Ukraine Order of the Gold Star (posthumously)
Medal of the Order of the Pahonia (posthumously)

Aliaksiej Mikalajevič Skoblia (Belarusian: Аляксей Мікалаевіч Скобля, 14 March 1990 – 13 March 2022), nom de guerre "Tur" (Тур, lit. "Bison"), was a Belarusian soldier who was deputy commander of the Kastuś Kalinoŭski Battalion under the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Skoblia died defending Kyiv from advancing Russian troops during the Battle of Kyiv in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. He was posthumously conferred the title of Hero of Ukraine by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.[1][2]

Early life

Aliaksiej Mikalajevič Skoblia was born in Minsk, then part of the Soviet Union, on 14 March 1990. His mother was a kindergarten teacher and his father was a bus driver. From his childhood, he was interested in history.[3]

After the ninth grade, he entered a car mechanic college in Minsk. He took part in the 2011 Belarusian protests against the government of Alexander Lukashenko, for which he was briefly arrested and fined.[4]

Volunteer in Ukraine

In 2015, Skoblia went to Ukraine as a soldier for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, eventually becoming a deputy commander. He was one of the leading members of the Belarusian opposition fighting for Ukraine in the war in Donbas. Between 2021 and 2022, he served in the Special Operations Forces of Ukraine on a contract basis.[4][5]

Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Skoblia became deputy commander of the newly formed Kastuś Kalinoŭski Battalion of Belarusian volunteers. On 13 March 2022, on the outskirts of Kyiv, his unit was ambushed by Russian troops. Skoblia died from his wounds while covering the retreat of his troops. In the week preceding his death, he had rescued ten wounded soldiers of the battalion using his professional medical skills.[6][7][8][9]

Memory

A farewell ceremony took place on 16 March 2022 at the Kyiv Crematorium, at which a specially-composed poem was read by one of the battalion's soldiers:

I will go through a steadily difficult path of endless and bloody war.

Let us raise the flag of noble glory over our mighty shoulders.

As Kastuś Kalinoŭski is my example, so is the fate of my comrade [Ilya] Litvin.

I will liberate Belarus through the liberation of Ukraine.

Like Tur, I swear to defend my comrades-in-arms in the heat of the battle.

Our honour will live forever in the memory of our homeland.[5]

On 13 April 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posthumously awarded Skoblia the title of Hero of Ukraine "for personal courage and heroism in defending the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, loyalty to the military oath."[1][9]

On 22 November 2022, the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic in exile awarded Skoblia with the Medal of the Order of the Pahonia.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b Свабода, Радыё (13 April 2022). "Беларускага байца Аляксея Скоблю пасьмяротна ўганаравалі званьнем Героя Ўкраіны" [Belarusian fighter Aliaksiej Skoblia posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine]. Радыё Свабода (in Belarusian). Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  2. ^ DECREE OF THE PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE №233 / 2022 About conferring the title of Hero of Ukraine
  3. ^ "Напад Росії: спогади про білоруса "Тура", загиблого у боях під Києвом" ["He who goes to the fire first has no fear." Who was the Belarusian "Tur", killed in the battles near Kyiv?]. Суспільне | Новини. 2022-03-19. Archived from the original on 2022-03-19. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  4. ^ a b "Смяротна паранены беларус "Тур" загінуў пад Кіевам" [Mortally wounded Belarusian "Tur" died near Kyiv]. PolskieRadio.pl. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  5. ^ a b "У Кіеве пахавалі беларускага байца-добраахвотніка Аляксея Скоблю, які загінуў у баі" [Belarusian volunteer fighter Aliaksiej Skoblia killed in battle is buried in Kyiv]. Радыё Свабода / Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (in Belarusian). Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  6. ^ "13 сакавіка пад Кіевам загінуў беларус, які служыў у элітным украінскім атрадзе" [On 13 March 13 a Belarusian who served in an elite Ukrainian detachment died near Kyiv]. БЕЛАРУСКАЕ РАДЫЁ РАЦЫЯ (in Belarusian). 2022-03-14. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  7. ^ "Раненый, остался прикрывать своих: кто такой белорус "Тур", погибший под Киевом - Хартия'97 :: Новости Беларуси - Белорусские новости - Новости Белоруссии - Республика Беларусь - Минск" [Wounded, stayed to cover his comrades-in-arms: who was Belarusian “Tur”, who died near Kyiv]. 2022-03-19. Archived from the original on 2022-03-19. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  8. ^ "Смяротна паранены, застаўся прыкрываць сваіх. Хто такі беларус "Тур", забіты пад Кіевам" [Mortally wounded, he stayed to cover his comrades-in-arms. Who was Belarusian "Tur", killed near Kyiv]. Наша Ніва / Nasha Niva (in Belarusian). Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  9. ^ a b "Погибли за Украину: истории двух белорусских добровольцев | DW | 17.03.2022" [Died for Ukraine: stories of two Belarusian volunteers]. DW.COM / Deutsche Welle (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  10. ^ Рада БНР абвяшчае пра абнаўленьне Статуту Ордэна Пагоні і заснаваньне Мэдаля Ордэну Пагоні [Rada BNR announces an actualisation of the Statute of the Order of the Pahonia and the establishment of the Medal of the Order of the Pahonia] - Rada BNR, official website
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