Zaporizhzhia native Maksym Terentiev will be forever 33. His life was short, but full of meaning, strength, and dignity. He was the kind of person you felt you could lean on and whose absence will be forever painful.
Born in Zaporizhzhia, Maksym grew up in the village of Matviivka, where he spent his childhood and younger years. His character – honest, hard-working, and affable - was shaped there. After graduating from a metallurgical lyceum, he chose a trade he understood well and genuinely respected: metallurgy.
For over 13 years, Maksym worked as a rolling mill operator in the hot rolling shop. To his colleagues, he was more than a skilled professional – he was someone you could always count on. Calm, diligent, and attentive to others, he knew how to support in word and in deed and never turned away anyone who needed help.
"Maksym was the kind of person who makes you feel at ease. Reliable, composed, sincere, and always ready to lend a hand. He was respected not only for his professionalism, but also for his humanity: his ability to support, to share a joke, to help in a hard moment. That is how we will always remember him. After his passing, the administration of the plant and his team did everything possible to support his family because he was more than a colleague to us – he was one of our own", Serhii NEMUDRYI, a control pulpit operator of the hot rolling shop, recalls.
Maksym was a pillar for his parents, a loving husband, a dependable brother, and a loyal friend. His interests included history and military literature. He also loved films, machinery, road trips, and the feeling of freedom. Maksym was passionate about motorcycles, knowledgeable about cars, drawn to extreme activities, and skydived. He possessed both inner strength and a warm, caring attitude toward others.
Before the full-scale invasion, Maksym completed his mandatory military service with the 25th Sicheslav Separate Airborne Brigade, earning the rank of sergeant. The army became a school of endurance, responsibility, and brotherhood for him – but above all, it strengthened what was already there: his strength of spirit and sense of duty.
When the full-scale invasion began in 2022, Maksym did not hesitate. From the very first days, he joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine and went to defend his country as part of the 503rd Separate Marine Infantry Battalion. His combat path included areas with the fiercest fighting in Donetsk region – Komar, Velyka Novosilka, Shakhtarske, Novoukrainka, Avdiivka.
His brothers-in-arms remembered him as a strong, resilient, and fearless warrior who carried out his missions with precision and never backed down in the face of danger. He did not like grand words. His actions spoke louder than any speech.
On 30 June 2022, near Avdiivka, Maksym Terentiev was killed in action. His life was cut short by an artillery strike. Just days before, he had called his family for the last time – wishing his grandmother a happy birthday and his wife a happy anniversary, as if touching the home he was defending one more time.
The Hero is survived by his wife, his parents, and his grandmother.
For his parents, Maksym's death is an unbearable loss. Yet more than anything, they ask one thing: remember Maksym, his act of heroism, his kind heart, and the person he was.
"Bunny, everything's fine with me," he wrote to me from the frontline. Those words were pure Maksym – calm, strong, and caring. He never complained. He protected me even from a distance. He was my rock, my light. He used to say he loved seeing me smile... So I will keep smiling – for him. Because love doesn't disappear," his wife Victoria recalls.
For his valour and heroism, Maksym was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage, 3rd Class. But the highest honour is the memory that lives on.
The memory of Maksym Terentiev lives not only in the hearts of his family, friends, colleagues, and brothers-in-arms. In his native Matviivka, the street he lived on was named after him. Now, it is no longer just an address, but a daily reminder of the man who gave his life for Ukraine.
Recently, a bell bearing Maksym Terentiev's name was added to the Memorial Tree of Memory in Zaporizhzhia – a symbol of gratitude, honour, and lasting memory of courage that does not fade with time.
Maksym Terentiev was a man of steel – in his work, in his friendships, in his service. And so he will remain, forever. Eternal honour to the Hero.
Zaporizhstal remembers and honours its hero-defenders. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, 84 steelworkers from Zaporizhzhia have given their lives for Ukraine. The company preserves the memory of each one, supports the families of the fallen, and with gratitude honours those who defended their country's future at the cost of their own lives.
