Maxim “Maly” Marinyuk is a fan of the football club “Polissya” (Zhytomyr), a representative of the team “Zhytomyr Lads”.

Maxim Viktorovich Marinyuk was born on March 14, 1998. From a young age he was interested in football and played for Zhytomyr “Polissya”. He was an active fan, supported the club at home and away matches, and in 2016 became one of the founders of the ultras team “Zhytomyr Lads”.

With the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, Maly immediately joined the Ukrainian army to defend our Motherland from the invaders. “If I have to die, I will die sitting at home. It will fly and everything, then you will not do anything. Therefore, now I am going to the military - and forward,” recalls the words of Maxim, spoken in the first hours of the Great War, one of his comrades.

Despite all the risks, he chose the most understandable way of fighting for himself, joining the local brigade of the Armed Forces, as part of which he later went to carry out combat tasks in the east of Ukraine. There he met his 24th birthday. On the last day of March, in one of the hottest directions of this war, during many days of fierce fighting, Maxim died near the village. Kamenka of Izyum district (Kharkiv region).

- “He was a fan of Zhytomyr “Polissya”, loved our city of Zhytomyr, our country. Many fans, about 80%, went to defend the Motherland. He left in the 95th and gave his life so that everyone else was well,” says Alexey Sorokopud, a Zhytomyr resident, a member of the ATO, who personally created the Museum of Football of his hometown.

By the Decree of the President of Ukraine 265/2022 dated 20.04.2022, senior soldier Maryniuk Maxim Viktorovich was awarded the Order “For Courage” of the 3rd degree. Posthumously.