Yakiv Tkachenko(1979-2024)

Yakiv Tkachenko was born on February 2, 1979 in the city Dnipro, (old name Dnipropetrovsk), Ukraine. As a child he dreamed of becoming a doctor as his mother, but fate was different. At the age of 14, Yakiv accidentally stumbled upon the amateur theater, and this discovery determined his future path. After leaving school in 1996, Yakiv entered the Dnipropetrovsk Theater College as a Drama Actor. After graduation, he was invited to the Dnipropetrovsk Academic Theater of Russian Drama. (Now the Dnieper Academic Theater of Drama and Comedy) In 2011, Yakiv Tkachenko joined the Ukraine Karpenko-Karyi National University of Theater, Film and Television where he studies Drama Directing. His movie career began in 2003, and since 2016, with the beginning of the heyday of Ukrainian cinema, he began to actively starring in feature films and series. In 2018, he was nominated for the Ukrainian national film award "Golden Dzyga" as the best supporting actor for the role of Slavik in the movie "Pryputni" ("The Strayed") director Arkadiy Nepytaliuk. Following the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, he joined the Territorial Defense Forces in Dnipro on March 1, 2022. He later served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Vuhledar, holding the rank of Junior Sergeant, and served as both a platoon sergeant and acting platoon commander. He sustained a concussion and a serious injury in combat but returned to the front line after recovery. He was demobilized in February 2023 and resumed his acting career. In September 2024, unable to stand by in the face of the continued Russian aggression, he passed the rigorous selection process to join the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade and signed a contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He was killed in action.