«And life turned upside down in one day»: Security guard killed after joining war

A farewell ceremony was held in the Yelansky district of the Volgograd region for 37-year-old Aleksei Yatsenko, who was killed in Ukraine. The man went to the zone of the special military operation after a terrible killing, not waiting for his court proceedings to begin. However, he was tragically killed a few months later.

As his sister, Irina, told V1.RU, in ordinary life he was a regular guy who worked in security, including in Moscow. But everything changed in May of this year.

«My brother dealt with a criminal who had once broken into a war veteran»s home and killed him. This time, the criminal came to my brother«s house, even though no one had invited or was expecting him. My brother wanted to see him out properly, but the criminal had no intention of leaving and threatened to rape my brother»s girlfriend,« Irina recounts. »A fight broke out. In a state of affect, my brother struck the man with blows incompatible with life.«

Local groups wrote about this killing at the time: «Between 10 and 11 May, a killing occurred in the village of Ternovoye. A man born in 1980 was killed. The reasons are being ascertained. A criminal case has been initiated under Article 105, Part 1 of the Russian Criminal Code. The suspect has been detained, and investigative actions are underway.»

In the comments, most residents sided with Aleksei and were convinced he had been pushed to the breaking point before the killing.

«I know both of them. Aleksei is almost 40, and in all that time I have never once seen him behave aggressively. He never had conflicts with anyone, never argued, let alone fought. How far must he have been pushed for him to act like that? In the village, residents want to collect signatures because everyone is on Aleksei»s side.«

According to Irina, her brother fully admitted his guilt but did not wait for the start of the court proceedings. In July 2025, he signed a military contract and went to the SMO.

«After a month of training, he was sent to Bakhmut. On September 20, he went on a combat mission. He spent 17 days in battle, where he took up positions and did not let the enemy through, but on October 7 he was hit by a drone, after which he received shrapnel wounds to his limbs. A few hours later on the same day, a drone hit him again, after which he stopped communicating. The official date of death is October 7,» the woman says. «An ordinary life of a man who lived and worked. He loved, of course, the company of friends, but they were all good guys. And then he ran into an aggressor, and life turned upside down in one day.»

Aleksei Yatsenko was buried in the village of Ternovoye in the Yelansky district with full military honors.