There are people whom war does not break, but only tests—time and again, until the very end. Ihor Viktorovych Shulga was exactly that kind of person. Until 2022, his life was ordinary—just like that of thousands of Ukrainian men. He was born in the village of Selets in the Zhytomyr region, into a working-class family. He completed his mandatory military service and rose to the rank of staff sergeant. Then came years behind the wheel. Simple, honest work. His wife Tetyana, his son Maksym. It seemed like an ordinary Ukrainian life. But on February 24, 2022, everything changed. And already on February 26—the second day of full-scale war—Ihor made a choice that not everyone is capable of making. He didn’t wait for a draft notice. He didn’t look for reasons to stay. He went on his own. Starting in May 2022, he was where it was hardest—on the front lines, in the Kharkiv region. The Kupiansk sector became his war for a long time: the towns and villages, whose names the country had come to know through General Staff reports, were part of his everyday life—a daily risk in which survival was measured not by luck, but by skill and willpower. His comrades knew him as Batyu. A call sign isn’t given by chance—it must be earned. It is earned through caring for those younger, through resilience during the fiercest days, and through that very calmness that is passed on to others at a time when calm seems nowhere to be found. He served as commander of the guard platoon and was the chief sergeant—platoon leader of the machine-gun platoon in the rifle battalion of Military Unit A 2573 (3rd Separate Heavy Mechanized Brigade). One of his comrades recalls: “Dad, why did you need that (referring to his last combat mission)? You could have just refused.” In response, he heard only “YESSS.” And when Igor said “yes,” everyone who knew him understood: there was no point in arguing further. The decision had been made, and it wouldn’t change. He is convinced that even if Igor had known for certain he wouldn’t return, he would have gone anyway. Not because he didn’t value life, but because he had such a strong character and couldn’t leave his men behind—he simply couldn’t do otherwise. The war tried to take him. On April 6, 2025, near Kam’yanka in the Kupiansk district, yet another round of shelling by FPV drones could have been his last. It wasn’t. Concussions, acoustic trauma. He kept coming back. Each time, he returned there—to his boys, to his comrades-in-arms who were waiting for him. Not because he wasn’t afraid, but because he knew it would be harder there without him. He returned from a difficult mission in August 2025 as well. Over the course of three and a half years of war, several awards appeared on his chest: a certificate from the brigade commander in his first year of service, the brigade commander’s medal “For the Liberation of the Kharkiv Region,” and badges from Ukrainian Defense Minister O. Reznikov “For Exemplary Service,” “Combat Infantryman” from the Commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Ground Forces, and the “Defender of Ukraine” award from Ukrainian Defense Minister R. Umerov. But anyone who knew Batyu understands: he didn’t fight for the awards. He fought for his wife Tetyana, whom he called whenever he could. He fought for his son Maksym, whom he was proud of and whose future Ihor literally defended. For his comrades-in-arms, who became his second family. His comrade-in-arms also remembers another side of Igor—not just the one on the front lines. The man who would call his wife and speak to her politely and gently—the woman he loved above all else—the man who would happily say that he had a wonderful wife—and you could feel it in every conversation. He also always treated his comrades with respect, remaining calm and level-headed even when circumstances made it difficult. “Although we hadn’t known each other for long, I had great respect for Igor because of his character,” he says. “He was a true friend who went out of his way to help me, even with issues where I didn’t expect anyone to agree to lend a hand.” Another adds bluntly: both fought on the front lines, quickly hit it off, and he is certain—Batia would never have surrendered. It just wasn’t in his nature. According to those who fought alongside him, Igor never fought “for the state and for the government” in an abstract sense—he was defending his family and his home. On November 28, 2025, while carrying out a combat mission to defend Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty in the Dvorichanskyi area of the Kupianskyi District in the Kharkiv Region, Ihor Viktorovych Shulga went missing in action. Nine months ago, all contact was lost. But neither the memory, nor the love, nor the waiting have ended. Dad—a Defender who always chose to return—to battle, to his comrades, to the duty he voluntarily took upon himself on that February day in 2022. His story is that of a man who did not seek heroism, but simply did every day what a true person must do when the Motherland is in trouble. We’re waiting for you, Dad. Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!
