Ilya “Red” Goncharov is a fan of the football club “Metalist” (Kharkiv), a representative of the team “Kharkiv City Patriots”.
Ilya Sergeevich Goncharov was born on August 2, 1995 in the city of Kharkiv. He studied at school No. 151, gymnasium No. 83, as well as Kharkiv Mechanical Engineering Professional College. As a child, he most liked to walk with friends and tried various sports, including swimming. Subsequently, when he joined the fan team, mastered sides and kickboxing
In 2010, after the 9th grade of school, Ilya entered college, and at the same time began to attend the fan sector “Metalist”. Quickly finding his place among the top team in Kharkiv sectors, he not only supported the team in the stadium, but also defended his native colors in fights. Friends of the team recall that with his relatively small dimensions, Ilya took his fighting qualities, courageous character and endurance. According to their recollections, he always fought to victory and did not give up when failures occurred.
He was a participant in the revolutionary events of 2014. Arriving at the capital's Maidan, within a week, together with other representatives of the fan community, he fought for a free future for our country. Ilya was modest and did not like to talk about his actions even to his relatives. Relatives learned much later from eyewitness accounts that he pulled out a wounded man on the Maidan. Returning to Kharkov, he fought on the streets of the city with supporters of the so-called “Russian spring”.
In the same year, he was one of the first among Kharkiv fans to join the ranks of “Azov”. Defended Ukraine during the war in the east, taking part in all the most famous operations. Fighting for Shyrokina, Marinka, liberation of Mariupol. In 2015 he was awarded the commemorative sign “Defender of Mariupol”.
The beginning of a full-scale invasion “Rudyi” met in Mariupol. During the defense of the city, he was in the position of commander of the calculation of the AGS. He worked on the enemy from a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, destroying a lot of enemy manpower. Ilya Goncharov died on May 15, 2022, receiving numerous gunshot wounds as a result of a mine strike.
In his book “Mariupol. The book of the brave” Ruslan “David”, one of the defenders of the city, recalls the last hours of his brother's life: - “... It was not difficult to understand that it was the arrival of a mine lying next to the AGSA position. In “Rudogo” there were open fractures of the arm and leg, shrapnel wounds of almost the entire body, besides, with the naked eye, pieces of skin were torn off by stones and earth. He held on like a true warrior, and despite extremely severe wounds, he did not cry, did not sob, but only growled like a real tiger. I was overwhelmed with pride that it was with such people that I fight side by side. It took about only a few minutes before the doctor called me and pointed to the breathless body of “Red”... He died already on the table, just in the hands of doctors. There was no mood, it was a pity that we did not have time to save him. But I was proud to know Rudogo personally. This is a real man who died with a gun in his hands...
On July 28, 2022, he was awarded the Order “For Courage” of the Third Degree (posthumously).
