The defender with many children died in the war two days before he was discharged from the service

Evgeny Golovchak from Volhynia was a soldier of the 14th separate mechanized brigade named after Prince Roman the Great. Two days before leaving the service, the father of many children blew himself up with a mine.

“Ukrainian Pravda. Life” spoke with the wife of the deceased defender Lyubov Holovchak. The woman shared the story of meeting and marrying Yevgeny and told about her husband’s decision to go and protect his family from the invaders.

Even before marriage, Evgeny dreamed of having many children

Lyubov Holovchak says that the day she saw her lover for the first time is still in front of her eyes. Evgeny lived in the village of Krynychny in Volyn, and the woman lived in the village of Kortelysi in the same region. He served in the army with her cousin, and he gave him Lyuba’s phone number. That’s how they met.

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Two days before leaving the service, the father of many children blew himself up with a mine

“Often the whole night passed imperceptibly behind our conversations on the phone. And when in nine months when I saw him for the first time, I felt as if the ground had slipped from under my feet. I fell in love with him at first sight. I was 18 at the time, and he was 20“, the woman recalls.

Since then, the lovers have practically never parted. And when it came to marriage, they decided to just sign off.

“He couldn’t even buy me a wedding ring because he didn’t have the money. But even without her, I lived with him for 16 years and always felt “behind my husband” – loved and protected, like behind a stone wall– says 34-year-old Lyubov.

Evgeny dreamed of many children even before marriage. The dream came true – the couple had six children – three boys and three girls. Currently, the eldest son Vitaly is 16 years old, Kateryna is 14, Artem is 13, Stas is 11, Alina is 8, and Svitlanka will turn 3 in March.

Lyubov remembers that the husband was very happy when each child appeared, as if for the first time. Before serving in the army, he traveled to earn money – sometimes to Poland, then to Kyiv. But he tried not to leave his family for a long time.

“The man always devoted a lot of time to the children – playing with them, teaching them to play the guitar. And when they began to grow up, he trained them to work. Because he himself was a master with “golden hands” – everything was in order with him – both in the house and in the household. He even designed the tractor himself, which is still used by his family“, continues Love.

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“I grabbed my summons from the headman of the village…”

When a full-scale war began, the village headman brought a summons to Yevhen’s home.

“In our village, summonses were carried from house to house. The head of the village also brought it to my husband. Then I started to cry, he has six small children! Then the old woman left our yard with that summons.

The man started to comfort me, saying that if he doesn’t leave, the occupiers will come here and kill everyone. Then he got into the car, caught up with the woman and snatched that damned piece of paper from her hands. My husband reassured me that he would be sent to serve somewhere nearby. But it turned out the other way around, he was sent to hell itself“, the woman says.

Evgeny tried to call his wife every day. He was very worried about his eldest son Vitaly – he had just had a tumor removed from his leg. He himself never told his relatives where exactly he was and how difficult it was for him.

In total, Yevgeny spent seven months in the war

After three months of service, the man was sent home for 10 days. Then the father almost did not leave his son Vitaly, because for the first time after the operation, the boy did not get out of bed. And he also visited all his brothers, he has five of them.

Eugene did not know that while he was fighting, his wife was doing everything possible to bring him home.

“I sued, but lost. And when the law regarding additional grounds for dismissal from military service during martial law came into force, I called my husband’s superiors and threw out all the documents that he had many children. I was told that the documents would be signed on Monday and the husband would be at home– says the woman.

But Yevhen did not live for two days until Monday, on Saturday he was blown up by a mine. He spent only seven months in the war.

I dialed his number all the time until I broke my cell phone

When a man in military uniform entered the yard, Lyuba immediately understood what news he brought. At first, the woman was shocked, and then she decided that it was some kind of mistake and that her Eugene was alive.

She kept calling her husband on his cell phone, but there was no answer. I even broke my phone once…

“In the end, that day came – I went to the morgue in Lutsk, where he was brought, for identification. Yes, it was my Eugene – so thin, with wounds on his hands and forehead. I couldn’t even say goodbye to him, because it was already five days after his death. We did not open the house at home.

When he was brought home, our little Svitlanka ran up and started shouting “Daddy!”. And began to climb on the house. All the children cried a lot, but I don’t remember the funeral, as if everything was in a fog. You know, I still can’t look at the military, my heart breaks.”the woman continues.

On February 8, it will be one year and four months since Yevhen died. His wife says the pain does not subside, it is becoming more and more unbearable.

“Although my husband prepared me for life without him a long time ago, he taught me how to cut firewood with a saw, and how to mow, how to ride a tractor, and how to drive. I even bought a car when I came on vacation“, – recalls Lyubov.

Currently, the eldest Vitaliy is the owner of the family. In his room, the boy touched the flag that covered his father’s house. He started reading the Bible and comforts his mother when she cries.

Currently, the eldest Vitaliy is the owner of the family. ALL PHOTOS: from the family archive of Lyubov Golovchak

Love often visits her husband’s grave and brings flowers every time.

“I pour out my soul in front of him, talk, and my heart feels lighter for a moment“, says the woman.

She adds: Evgeny came to her in dreams several times. In one of them, she called him home to eat, and he gently answered her:

“No, my love, I can’t. I feel so good here…”

Read also: Overcame cancer and found her son’s dog in Mariupol: the story of the mother of a captured combat medic