Zhytnikov Yaroslav Volodymyrovych was the commander of the platoon of the 53rd separate mechanized brigade of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant.
He was born on 30 August, 1982 in Torez (from 2016 - Chistyakov), Donetsk region. He graduated the secondary school. He lived in Lozova, Kharkiv region. He worked at the Lozova signaling and communication link at the Southern Railway, he was a trade union organizer of the workshop.
In May 2015, he was mobilized into the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served as the commander of the platoon of the 53nd separate mechanized brigade of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (military unit В0927, the city Severodonetsk / Lisichansk, Luhansk region).
Since 2015, he participated in the anti-terrorist operation in eastern Ukraine.
On 4 July, 2016, lieutenant Zhytnikov was severely wounded in the chest during the mortar shelling of the unit‘s positions. Together with two injured, he was taken to the hospital in Toretsk, Donetsk region, where he was operated. But the efforts of the doctors proved to be useless, on the same day the soldier died.
On July 6, 2016, he was buried at the Central Cemetery in Lozova, Kharkiv region.
He was awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky III class (27.10.2016; posthumously).
The mother, the wife and the daughter are left.