Missing for three years: Serhii Pohornets laid to rest in Mykolaiv

At the Alley of Glory in Matviivka, Mykolaiv, November 2, 2026, defender Serhii Pohorets was buried with military honors. A loved one of the defender spoke about the farewell ceremony and the circumstances surrounding his identification.

Serhii was born on August 16, 1988, in the village of Myrne in the Mykolaiv region. Before the full-scale war began, he worked as an industrial climber. He joined the defense of Ukraine on March 2, 2023.

The family last heard from him on October 17, 2023, when he set out on a combat mission in the Donetsk region. On October 20, 2023, he was declared missing near the village of Bohdanivka in the Bakhmut district of the Donetsk region.

For almost three years, his family had no answers about what had happened to the defender. It later emerged that the body of an unidentified fallen soldier was in Kremenchuk. To identify him, Serhii’s brother provided a DNA sample. The serviceman’s mother later came to Ukraine and also took a DNA test.

The matching results made it possible to confirm the identity of Serhii Pohorets. After his identification, the fallen defender was returned to Mykolaiv.

To those close to him, Serhii will be remembered as a kind, warm-hearted, and caring person with a big heart. He is survived by his mother, brother, and sister.

We previously reported:

• More than 26,000 bodies returned to Ukraine — many of the fallen have still not been identified
• For now, only codes instead of names: 76 unidentified defenders buried in Mykolaiv
• Four years of waiting ended in irreparable grief: an assault soldier from the Mykolaiv region was reported killed
• The Interior Ministry launches an online service to identify missing people by their tattoos
• Defense Ministry: Nazar Daletskyi’s family is not required to repay benefits after his return from captivity