Let’s bow our heads. The developer of the STALKER game died after being blown up by a mine

Every day at 9 in the morning, Ukrainians honor the memory of people whose lives were taken by the Russian-Ukrainian war. Today, Sport.ua remembers one of the most famous Ukrainian e-sportsmen, one of the developers of the legendary computer games “STALKER” and “Cossacks”, Volodymyr Yezhov, who died fighting for Ukraine near Bakhmut exactly three years ago, on December 22, 2022, forever remaining 38 years old.

Trace in eSports Volodymyr Yezhov was born on August 1, 1984 in Lubny, Poltava Oblast. While studying at the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, Volodymyr became interested in computer games. He became one of the most famous Ukrainian e-sportsmen – he played StarCraft under the nickname Fresh.

Eventually, the hobby turned into a profession. Due to his perfect command of the English language and his love for the game industry, in 2003 Volodymyr was invited to work at the GSC company, which worked on “Cossacks” and “STALKER”. He became one of the developers of the legendary games, and his appearance was also used to create the character “Loki” – the leader of the intelligence unit “Will” in the “STALKER” universe. As a game designer, he also contributed to the development of “World of Battles: Morningstar”, “Call of Cthulhu” and “Sherlock Holmes: Devil’s Daughter”.

Combat experience After the Katsapas annexed Crimea and started separatist movements in Donetsk and Luhansk regions in 2014, Yezhov decided that he would go to defend Ukraine with weapons in hand. And with the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he joined the volunteer company “Ukrainian Military Organization” (UVO), which was organized by veterans of the OUN battalion in January 2022 before the full-scale invasion of Muscovites. As part of it, Volodymyr participated in the defense of Kyiv and Donetsk region. Having gained combat experience, he headed the air reconnaissance unit of the 23rd separate special battalion of the Separate Presidential Brigade named after Bohdan Khmelnytskyi.

Death Volodymyr Yezhov died on December 22, 2022, after being blown up by a mine near Bakhmut in Donetsk region. A day before that, another soldier of the UVO company, Oleg Rybalchenko, a fan of Dynamo Kyiv, with whom Volodymyr became a close friend in the army, died near Klishchiivka.

Oleg Rybylchenko and Volodymyr Yezhov “Bakhmut. Holds on. It’s too difficult to write about the price. Ryba (Oleg Rybalchenko) and Vus (Volodymyr Yezhov) died in the battle for Ukraine. They are heroes, they fought heroically. The best fighters of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, the best commanders. Wonderful friends with whom fate introduced me in the 14th,” wrote unit commander Yevhen Chepelyanskyi.

Volodymyr Yezhov is survived by his beloved wife and two sons aged seven and ten.