b. c. 2000
Lev Pashko
Hero of Ukraine, Mariupol defender
He took the call sign “Horus”, after the ancient Egyptian god of the sky and war. He joined Azov at 18, and at 22 was defending besieged Mariupol when he was made a Hero of Ukraine. After Azovstal fell he spent four months in Russian captivity before coming home.
Key accomplishments
- Volunteered for Azov in 2017, right after turning 18
- Company commander through the 86-day defence of Mariupol, including Azovstal
- Order of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, 3rd class (25 March 2022)
- Made a Hero of Ukraine with the Gold Star order at 22 (decree No. 251/2022, 17 April 2022)
- Taken prisoner when Azovstal fell; freed on 21 September 2022 in a prisoner exchange
Why “Horus”?
Horus is the ancient Egyptian god of the sky and war. That is the call sign Kyiv-born Lev Pashko chose when he volunteered for the Azov regiment in 2017, right after turning 18. Five years later he was a lieutenant and company commander.
86 days in Mariupol
The full-scale invasion found Pashko on the Azov Sea coast near Mariupol. On 26 March 2022 he personally destroyed an armoured personnel carrier and two enemy tanks - a battle later cited in his award decree. Days later he received the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, 3rd class, for personal courage, and on 17 April 2022, at 22, the president signed decree No. 251/2022 making him a Hero of Ukraine with the Gold Star order.
The defence of Mariupol lasted 86 straight days. Its defenders’ last refuge was the Azovstal steel plant. Pashko was badly wounded in the leg during an attempted breakout. When the plant fell, he was taken prisoner, and spent four months in Russian captivity without proper medical care.
Coming home
On 21 September 2022 Lev Pashko was freed in what was then the largest prisoner exchange of the war - more than two hundred Ukrainian service members came home with him, among them other Azovstal defenders, including Denys Prokopenko and Nazarii Hryntsevych. He spent a long time in treatment and rehabilitation afterward.
“Horus” remains one of the faces of the price Mariupol’s defenders paid to hold the city against a far larger force.
