For Nina Kareltseva, Northern GOK became her first job after she finished an industrial college 12 years ago. She started as a freight and baggage acceptance operative in the rail transport department. Her skills were later noticed, and she was offered a dispatch operator role in mining & transport shop #2.

Nina's former supervisor Mykhailo Levonid remembers her as a person who cared about her team: "Young and ambitious - that's what I remember about her. She never shied away from work, she was eager to learn and grow. She was a disciplined lady, closely following instructions and keeping both herself and others organized. I think she told me that she was a group leader in her college. I believe with such personal and professional qualities, she would have climbed up the career ladder successfully... But for the horrible terrorist attack of the enemy on civilians... No two days are the same at work: for instance, if a substitute was needed in case of someone’s absence, Nina would always respond, even if it were in conflict with her personal plans, she would still come to the team's aid to help out the colleagues. They all were like one family, standing up for one another.

Nina's colleague Kateryna KROTOVSKA, an operator at Northern GOK, says Nina was very easy to work with. "After the operation of Annovsky Open Pit Mine and Mining & Transport Shop #2 was suspended in 2022, Nina and I were offered operator roles in the production department of the plant main office, and we were glad to have this opportunity to get new experience... Nina was very open, smart, quick, hard-working, always ready to help, attentive and friendly to everyone. It is unusual and difficult to use past tense to talk about her... So sad."

"Extremely positive and active," says the head of Mining & Transport Shop #2 Andrii ARTEMOVYCH about Nina. "I remember her for her extraordinary initiative. She was not afraid to take responsibility and make serious decisions. Unfortunately, her life was cut short by a cynical enemy attack... This is an irreparable loss for her loved ones and heavy pain for us as a team."

For Nina Kareltseva, her daughter was the apple of her eye. The young lady always tried to spend all her free time with her 10-year-old Oleksandra and the loved ones.

Nina was only 31. 

Olena Liaschenko worked at Metinvest Group enterprises for over 15 years. In recent years, she was known as an experienced economist. Olena Liaschenko started as a lamplighter at crushing plant # 2 of Northern GOK. An economist by education, Olena later joined the cost accounting department as an accountant, and was subsequently transferred to the inventory and cost accounting department.

Nataliya NOVOSELETS, lead accountant of tangible assets and capital investments accounting department at Metinvest Business Service recalls the years of joint work at crushing plant # 2 of Northern GOK, "When we met, Olena worked as an ordinary lamplighter at the factory. I immediately liked her: equable, calm, positive, inquisitive, and outgoing. Later, we found out she had an economic education, so we talked her into joining our accounting department. A sincere, compassionate and open woman, and a wonderful mother... She was nice to work and deal with. Be it pilots or changes, there was nothing in her work that could scare her. The ability to stay focused, a good memory and analytical skills helped her to delve deeper and search into any issue. She was diligent and meticulous, and was happy to help her colleagues. I still cannot believe she is no longer with us..."

Colleagues from the energy management department, where Olena Liashchenko worked in recent years, remember her as a very compassionate, sociable and creative person, and an experienced, skilful and competent specialist. She liked to spend her free time in the country, in nature, with family or friends. She would always walk home. She loved to travel, and  travelled a lot especially in Ukraine.

Olena was dedicated to her team and the company. She would sometimes pay little attention to her feeling unwell or sick, but would rather rush to work in order not to let her colleagues down and fulfil her tasks.

"I knew Olena mostly through work. This was enough to understand she was a wonderful, sweet and charming lady," recalls Svitlana NEMCHENKO, customer relations manager of Metinvest Business Service. "I worked in the office, and she was a shop-floor worker, she would prepare reports and bring them to me. Olena was very disciplined when it came to work. She was calm in receiving comments and diligent in fulfilling her responsibilities and assigned tasks. Her kindness stood out. Natural tact and politeness helped her resolve any tense situations. Lately, her work has really been difficult. In the energy management department, she liaised with energy companies. Despite sometimes stressful situations, she would always hold her own. I am sure colleagues can say only good things about her, because that's what she was like. A lot of people came to say 'rest in peace'. After all, she was very much respected and loved."

Yuliia MATVIENKO, a former colleague of Olena, shared with her office 236 for a long time, where MBS specialists worked: " A wonderful person! When I joined the company, I was young and inexperienced, but she sort of took me under her wing. If, for instance, I had a pile of papers and reports accumulated on my desk, she could quietly come up and take half to help me out. She would smile and say that everything needs to be done on time so that we go home on time. She was gentle, understanding and sincere. She would never leave anyone to their problems. Olena was very diligent at fulfilling her responsibilities. For her family, she was a pillar of strength: a devoted daughter for her parents, the best friend and support for her two younger sisters, a faithful wife to her husband and a loving mother to her daughter Nastia. She had time for everyone! She even visited her two 90-year-old grandmothers to help them around the house. Olena was versatile and would find interest in lots of things. Recently, she acquired the manicure skills; she was very good at it and enjoyed making other women look beautiful. For those who knew her, the world got darker without her..."

The woman's life was cut short at the age of 44.

Tetiana joined Northern GOK 16 years ago. She is well remembered by land surveying departments, because she started her career as a miner for surveying work in open pit mines. Later, the hard-working lady was offered a role of a surveyor with the main office of the enterprise. Being an active participant in numerous youth projects and a passionate person, she was noticed by HR department and offered a transfer to the social affairs department. From 2017 until the tragic day of July 8, Tetiana worked there as a lead specialist.

Her cheerfulness and sincerity are known to all colleagues who met her at least once. Kind, cheerful, gentle, and smart, she was open to everyone, willingly helped all who approached her with urgent requests, supported and helped the needy through her participation in the plant's volunteer work.

"We have known Tetiana since 2011," recalls Nataliia NESHTAK, a lead specialist of recruitment, training and development department at Northern GOK. We were part of the same youth organization, and participated in various activities and projects together. Tetiana met her future husband Volodymyr Krasilnikov in the youth organization. It was one of the first couples in our youth organization. We had exciting time back then. We were friends both in life and at work. Later, our children became friends. We would joke by saying that we were raising a new generation of colleagues. A year ago, I joined the employee recruitment, training and development department, but we kept our friendship alive. We often saw one another in the corridors, hugged each other, shared news and emotions. Tetiana was loved for her positive attitude, sincerity, and openness. She was one of those who could find common ground with anyone. She had an integrated personality, able to cope with things both at home and at work. Tetiana was a wonderful wife, keeping her house in order and cooking goodies to take to work. She was the best mom for her son Mykhailo, a mom with a capital M. For a long time, Tetiana shared her office with Oksana Dovbnia, who was also killed. They became good colleagues, assisting each other in every way - whether it's helping to keep up, supplement or complete. That's what they seemed to be. And they died together..."

Tetyana Krasilnikova's attention to people, kindness and sympathy were engraved in her work in the main office of the enterprise. She took care of many important social areas. Particularly, she was in charge of organizing employees' business trips and amenity services at the enterprise. Also, she was the one to whom employees turned to if they lost a family member and wanted to request a financial aid from the enterprise.

"I was there, when it all happened. News about Tetiana's death was one of the first to reach us. However, we hoped that it was not true, that it was not her. Yet, the lump in my throat grew as names of our colleagues were shouted," Alyona ROGATIUK, the chief procurement specialist of the mining department of Metinvest Operational Directorate, recalls that horrible day. "Tetiana was a sunshine, a sweet lady with a smile on her face. The minute she saw you at a distance, she would begin to waive her hand. Despite her busy life, she would always be happy to help address our work issues. We often rode the same bus on the way to work. You know, there are people who radiate warmness even on the coldest days. These eyes and this smile... She truly made this world a better and a prettier place. Why do the best have to die? This rotten country kills our most wonderful people, but we will take revenge."

Tetiana Krasilnikova will be forever 39. Tetiana's nine-old son Mykhailo and her husband Volodymyr, a shop manager in the rail transport department of Northern GOK, will never see her again. Tetiana will be missed greatly!

Oksana Dovbnya, an employee of Metinvest Business Service, was killed during the missile attack. After the first attack, she ran out to help the victims, the second missile took Oksana’s life. She was 43 years old. That day was the last day Oksana's husband and her two children saw her.

Oksana worked at Metinvest for eight years; she started her career at Northern GOK as an environmental protection engineer. She joined the MBS team three years ago and was among the first employees of the Social Services and Infrastructure Centre. Oksana was managing the contracts and organizing business trips for Northern GOK employees.

Oksana's sincerity and openness were mostly appreciated and loved by her colleagues from MBS and Northern GOK. It seemed like she didn't know the word "no" and was always ready to help.

"Oksana always responded quickly to the  requests of others," recalls Kateryna BONTUSH, head of the administrative contracts and document management group at Metinvest Business Service. "She quickly learned new functionalities and helped her colleagues transferred to MBS from other enterprises to navigate. She was a mentor to new users teaching them how to work in SAP. She never refused to help others, whether it's distributing humanitarian aid among the employees or organizing the delivery of New Year gifts for children. Oksana was always the first to offer help, and this time after the explosion she tried to help the wounded colleagues. Our team lost a very good person and a wonderful specialist."

"I used to work with Oksana at Northern GOK," says Snizhana SINDIEYEVA, accountant of Operational Reporting Department at Metinvest Business Service. "She was a sunshine, always smiling and cheerful. I remember calling her to consult about SAP issues, and she would say with a comforting voice, "Well, don't worry, we'll look into it and sort it out." I saw her not long before the tragedy, we talked about the situation in the country, and she tried to encourage and lift up my heart by saying, "Everything will be all right, we'll survive..." It's so sad that the russian terror takes lives of our best people."

Inna joined Northern GOK in 1996. She started as a stock keeper in Repair and Maintenance Department and a packer in the mechanical repair area. Later, she was transferred to the central warehouse for auxiliary materials in the production preparation shop, where she held the same position of a stock keeper.

Many of the Northern GOK employees remembered Inna Levchenko as the Automotive Shop dispatcher. She joined the operation department in 2017 and worked as a dispatcher for almost five years. Everyone who needed to organize transport for a trip would turn to her. She really liked this job, however, the night shifts were very difficult for the woman.

The automotive Shop dispatcher from Northern GOK Larisa RЕSHЕTILO remembers, "Inna was a responsible lady. She was trusted; she took her responsibilities seriously, and always had a smile on her face. I'm now trying to remember if she was ever mad or angry... And I can't. We never saw her like that. I know that she didn't have an easy life raising two children alone, but she never complained; instead, she always tried to focus on good things. She helped her daughter, who was a student at a medical university in another city and was raising her schoolboy son. Believing and hoping for the better and optimism helped her to keep on going. I remember working night shifts in the automotive shop were hard for her, and her body didn't respond positively, so she was transferred to the specialized production and environmental laboratory. I heard her saying she liked working in the lab, the schedule and the team were good, but gradually she began to have allergy, so Inna had to change her workplace again.”

"She treated her colleagues with care, and was able to resolve job-related issues easily and wisely," recalls Vita LEBID, senior dispatcher of the automotive shop at Northern GOK. "She was always optimistic, and a very good person. Nice and friendly, she was at the same time demanding and stern when dealing with our drivers. She was good at communicating with people and easing situations with appropriate words. A sweet and nice lady."

Economist by education, Inna was eager to learn new occupations. When life circumstances forced her to change the workplace again, she would plunge into a new environment and delve into the subtleties in order to meet the requirements and be useful for the team.

Six months before the war, Inna Levchenko used the opportunity to get retrained and upskilled and completed a course to acquire a new specialty of a chemical analysis laboratory technician Level 5 and a gas and dust analysis laboratory technician Level 4. For two years, she worked in the specialized production and environmental laboratory at Northern GOK as a member of the industrial emissions control group. Thus, she joined a new team and got new job responsibilities.

Colleagues from the specialized production and environmental laboratory and particularly Iryna Markina, the head of the laboratory at Northern GOK, speak of Inna Levchenko as a diligent and meticulous employee. In a short period of time, she managed to become a reliable colleague, a good friend and a wise adviser for them.

Not long ago, in November 2023, Inna Levchenko returned to the production preparation shop, where she took the role of inventory supervisor and also had several amenity-related responsibilities in the main office. With word and deed, she supported her colleagues in solving urgent amenity and inventory related issues.

A cynical enemy attack on July 8 left a daughter and a son without a mother. Inna Levchenko was 50 years old.

Serhii Fedorov worked at Northern GOK for more than 35 years. For the past 24 years, he held one of the most responsible positions of a senior dispatcher in the production department of the main office of the enterprise.

Serhii Fiodorov joined Northern GOK back in 1983. He started as an assistant excavator driver. For ten years, he was learning the subtleties of the mining profession at Annovsky Open Pit Mine, and later he worked for another seven years as a mining dispatcher at the same mine.

"An expert in his field, knowledgeable about the process subtleties, kind and sincere with the colleagues..."

"A good person and a reliable colleague. No matter what the working hurdles are there, he would never leave you to your troubles and would always support, advise and help..."

This is what the colleagues say about Serhii Fiodorov. Over the years of his work there, they never saw him mad or angry, at a loss or nervous.

"I knew Serhii for many years. No matter how difficult the situation was, nothing could derail him," recalls former colleague Liudmila SAVINA. "In any situation, he knew what to do, boldly took on the responsibility, with confidence and firmness he reported the situation to the general director in the morning. He stood out among his colleagues in the manufacturing area due to his intelligence, tolerance, and nobility. Deep knowledge and experience allowed him to solve any production problem. He knew everything! As they say, a dispatcher on the night shift is like a director of the enterprise - he must be ready to make a hard decision and take responsibility for it. He kept all things under control. Incredible responsibility! Responsibility for safety, for teams and their activities, for the life and health of employees. Even on the day of a missile attack on July 8, the first thing he thought about was saving people. According to the colleagues, he ran out as quickly as possible to open the gates for the rescue teams. He became the victim of the second explosion. He always thought of himself last. He stayed dedicated to his team and to Northern GOK... There are people who radiate light. He is one of them. Being around him, people were inspired to work, create, and live to the fullest. I know he was also a good keeper of his home, a loving husband and a true friend."

Serhii Fiodorov's life was cut short at the age of 61.

How to haul more and spend less; how to refurbish rail transport and modernize equipment; how to keep all vehicles up and running... Dmytro Litvinov knew answers to these complicated questions. He knew everything about the locomotives and used his knowledge to the benefit of the enterprise. His ideas helped increase haulage of mined material; he developed standard operational procedures to save diesel fuel; he took care of rail transport operators' safety through implementation of a number of fire prevention initiatives.

In 2015, the company recognized Dmytro's achievements by awarding him with the highest corporate award - Metinvest Gold Star. At that time, the 32-year-old innovator was awarded for innovative approach to organizing the operation of the rail transport, for improving productivity and occupational safety.

Since childhood, Dmytro was obsessed with rails and sleepers. Litvinov was born not far from the railway, at Tynda junction station of the Far East Railways. He spent the first seven years of his life there, watching day trains, night trains, freight trains and locomotives pass by day after day, honking their horns. It was probably there where he began to dream about driving a powerful noisy car. In Kryvyi Rih, his parents' summer house coincidentally was located near the railway, and he looked forward to anither weekend to see again a train that excited the boy's imagination.

After he finished the railway transport college at the age of 18, Dmytro had a chance to start up a locomotive for the first time in his life. He once said in an interview, "So many years have passed, I have grown to management roles and offices, but the railway and warehouse management are still most appealing to me."

Dmytro joined Northern GOK when he was 20 years old. The focused young man began to quickly advance along the iron rails of his career. He became not just a locomotive operator, but a top class operator, and later an instructor to locomotive operator teams. Despite his young age, he won the team's respect. This soon led him to the role of the head of the mined material haulage shop at Pershotravnevy Open Pit Mine. Later, Dmytro took the role of the chief auditor in the Rail Transport Department, which was followed by the role of the chief vehicle maintenance specialist in the main office of the enterprise.

"Dmitro and I shared the same office for a long time. He was not just fascinated about his work, railway was his life," says Oleksandr SMIRNOV, lead specialist of the routine and major overhaul department at Northern GOK. "He even had the English word "railway" in his personal e-mail address. He was one of the best specialists. Dmytro was well versed in everything related to transport, especially railways, be it scheduling traffic or planning repairs. If there was an emergency situation, which required a careful decision, such decision would not be taken without him. Senior managers at various levels always listened to his opinion when it came to railways... He was known and respected at other Metinvest GOKs as well. For example, his colleague who hold a similar position although at Central GOK came to the funeral ceremony from Odesa. He came to pay his respect and went back to his family in Odesa on the same day. That says a lot, doesn't it?..."

Dmytro was bright-eyed and enthusiastic about innovations. He sincerely admired the work of a locomotive operator, and the best romantic setting for him was riding in the cabin of a locomotive and watching the sunrise.

After each successive professional victory, Dmytro would often say that his family was the key to his success. He also regretted that work takes up lots of hours a day, and therefore it's hard to spend more time with loved ones.

...Dmytro Litvinov will be forever 41. Three daughters and a beloved wife lost their father and husband. Unbearable pain of irreparable loss...

He tremendously loved his enterprise, his homeland, and stars...

Vadym Timokhin dedicated 32 years to Northern GOK. Back in 1991, he joined Northern GOK after finishing a vocational school and service in the army, and he got a job of an electrical fitter at Annovsky Open Pit Mine. This is where he began to gain his experience year after year and improve his skills.

In 1999, Vadym became an engineer in the design and construction department of the construction bureau at the enterprise. By that time, he had completed his higher education. Soon after that, he got the role of a chief specialist for design of electrical grid and structures. Since 2012, he became a lead engineer in the capital construction department, focusing on energy facilities in different projects.

"When Vadym joined us, he already had experience of working at Annovsky Open Pit Mine and in the project department," recalls Serhii MALYKH, head of capital construction department at Northern GOK. "Project work is a valuable experience. Vadym was a very competent and diligent specialist, and this helped him to show his best in our work. A good analyst, he sometimes found and corrected project errors. Meticulous and attentive, he knew how to dig deep. If he didn't know something or it didn't work out, he would do his own research and would always bring it to completion. He liked brainstorming and discussing work tasks in a team. Vadym was a dedicated employee of Northern GOK. He received many transfer offers, all of which he declined. He was very educated, well-read, and loved good jokes. Nowadays, it's difficult to find a person who would be so fond of books. Vadym liked historical books, biographies, documentaries, and popular science literature. He was always very interesting to talk to. When he wasn't there, the team missed him, but as soon as Vadym came in, the communication would become alive. A working day or an off-site meeting became brighter thanks to him. He was a life and soul to any group of people, able to bring life into a discussion."

Since his youth, Vadym was fascinated by the magical world of astronomy, physics, and astrology. The stars, the sky, the cosmos fascinate him, so he could spend hours talking about them. He used to invite his loved ones to watch the parade of planets; he observed the shooting stars, tailed comets, and meteorites.

However, the greatest love of Vadym Timokhin's life was his children.

"His long-awaited daughters were the meaning of life for him," says Serhii Malykh, who is not only the supervisor, but also Vadym's children godfather. "Vadym's first daughter was born when he was 48. The second daughter was born four years later, and she is now less than two years old. Vadym was infinitely happy; I have never seen men so happy about the news of a future child. He is always around his children, taking them to and from kindergarten. If I called him in the evening, I could hear them literally jumping on their dad and laughing..."

True family happiness was interrupted by a terrible russian missile. After the strikes, the supervisor called all his subordinates. Vadym was the only one not to answer Serhii Malykh's phone call. "Five minutes before the missile strike, Vadym took the documents for signing and, as it turned out, he even managed to have them signed. He went to the buffet for coffee and... At the time of the strike, he was only eight meters away from where the missile landed. He got covered with debris... Our team lost a bright soul, a competent specialist, a loyal friend, a reliable colleague and just an outstanding and extremely interesting and wonderful person."

Five days before the tragedy, Vadym Timokhin celebrated his 54th birthday. Vadym's mother died nine days after the tragic death of her son - the mother's heart could not bear the pain.

Two little daughters were left fatherless, and Vadym's wife Liudmyla, also a Northern GOK employee, lost her beloved husband.

Dmytro Pakholiuk joined Northern GOK four years ago, after following the recommendations of doctors to change his police patrol job for a more low-paced and low-stress job. Thus, Metinvest's work clothes replaced Dmytro's patrol uniform. He was happy with his new workplace, an ambitious professional team of colleagues, unusual mining traditions and new career opportunities.

"I was glad to have Dmytro in our team, and the following years proved the high level of his professional competences," says Victor SOKOLOVSKY, head of the capital construction and investments office of the mining department of Metinvest Group Operations Directorate. "Since he was a builder by education, Dmytro was assigned to lead the railway-related construction work, as well as a portion of the project work, particularly, on a Central GOK mine. A diligent, very positive, with a calm demeanor and honest person and a responsible team member. Thoughtful, focused, a good analyst, and thorough in completing tasks... Unfortunately, enemy missiles took away a good specialist from us, took the life of a young man, bringing irreparable loss to the family."

Serhii SLYUSAR, lead manager of the capital investments department of Economics and Business System Development Directorate of Metinvest Group, knew Dmytro Pakholiuk well from childhood.

"He is my child's godfather and my friend. We've known each other since school. He was a true patriot and a loyal citizen. Without any exaggeration, Dmytro was very concerned about his country. He took all troubles and problems personal; he closely followed all the news from the front, he worried about the army, and I know he donated a lot and often to the needs of the defenders. He regularly donated blood for the wounded soldiers. Dmytro always wanted to be useful for his homeland. It was important and a matter of principle to him. When he joined the police, he did it to uphold the revival of the national police. He sincerely believed in justice and wanted to serve our society. Surely, all love their families, but for Dmytro it was really something special. His daughter came first. He devoted so much time for her, taking her to different children's clubs... Weekends for the loved ones, holidays... His wife, daughter and him were like three in one... I miss him very much. I can't comprehend how could this all happen. You saw the person yesterday, you talked and planned something together, and the very next day you can't reach them on the phone. After the first strike, Dmytro managed to call me twice. He said that he was, by and large, ok, that there were serious victims who needed help. He probably ran to someone's aid and was injured by the next missile, which struck a few minutes later. After that, his phone wouldn't answer..."

His wife and a six-year-old daughter lost their beloved husband and father to the enemy attack. Dmytro Pakholiuk was 35 years old. 

"Nearly the friendliest of all guards in the department, a very well-mannered and tactful person." This is what employees of Northern GOK say about Serhii Bondarenko. This is what his colleagues from Slavutich and acquaintances remembered about him.

For more than ten years, Serhii worked in the security business units of Northern Iron Ore Enrichment Works. For a long time, his roles were in the main office of the enterprise. Prior to that, he served in the police for many years. A true professional in his field.

With a smile on his face, he greeted everyone entering the main office with "Good morning" and "Have a nice day!" A sympathetic, kind, caring and friendly colleague. He never avoided difficult tasks, would always look for a way out and a solution, and was eager to help various departments. He had a genuine desire to help resolve, rather than postpone, put off or delegate to someone else. Serhii was always attentive and sympathetic," comment Northern GOK employees, and add by saying that they cannot imagine a security desk in the main office of the enterprise without Serhii.

Vasyl Osmatesku, the head of the office security department and immediate supervisor, has known Serhii for the last five years. He remembers the deceased colleague as an extremely responsible person and "one of the best in the company."

On that tragic morning, Serhii was at his desk, and probably, like some other employees, ran outside to help the victims after the first missile struck the main office building, but he was killed by an insidious second missile that struck the right wing of the building 9 minutes later.

Serhii Bondarenko left behind a daughter and wife. He was 56 years old. Forever remembered!