The last veteran of the Great Patriotic War died in the Kherson region.

Semyon Chumachenko, the last veteran of the Great Patriotic War (WWII), who lived in the Kherson region, passed away at the age of 99. This was announced on April 20 by the senator from the region Igor Kastyukevich.

"The kindest memories of Semyon Mikhailovich. I always talk about him, remembering our communication and those words of parting words and just precise phrases that Semyon Mikhailovich was happy to share," the senator wrote on his Telegram channel.

Chumachenko was born in the village of Makarovka in the Kherson region. In 1944, at the age of 17, he joined the active army. He served on the 1st Belorussian Front as a reconnaissance sapper. In the battles near the Vistula River, he took a valuable prisoner, despite heavy enemy machine-gun fire.

He participated in the Berlin operation, and lost his leg during the fighting. He was awarded the medal "For Bravery" and the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree.