1994–2022
Pavlo Sbytov
Marine commander, Hero of Ukraine
“The marines are my thing,” said Pavlo Sbytov, who chose the army at 15 though no one in his family had served. In 2021 he took command of the 503rd Marine Battalion; in March 2022 his marines kept a neighbouring brigade from encirclement between Mariupol and Volnovakha. Hero of Ukraine.
Key accomplishments
- Graduated from the Heroes of Kruty Lyceum in Lviv (2012) and the National Army Academy (2016)
- With the 503rd Separate Marine Battalion from 2016, fighting on the Mariupol front; company commander from 2017, battalion commander from 2021
- In 2019 his company won the contest for the best unit of its type in Ukraine’s Armed Forces
- In February–March 2022 his battalion took the blow of three russian battalion tactical groups between Mariupol and Volnovakha and kept units of the 53rd Mechanised Brigade from being encircled
- Order For Courage, 3rd class (2018); Hero of Ukraine, posthumously (decree No. 139/2022 of 16 March 2022)
“The marines are my thing”
“As soon as I got there, I realised the marines were my thing,” Pavlo Sbytov said of his first days in the service. He chose the army as a teenager, though no one in his family had been a soldier before him.
From Berezets to the 503rd Battalion
Pavlo Sbytov was born on 22 October 1994 in the village of Berezets in Lviv region. At fifteen he entered the Heroes of Kruty military lyceum in Lviv, and later graduated from the Army Academy in Lviv. In 2016 the young officer was posted to the 503rd Separate Marine Battalion and went straight to the front: the battalion was then holding the Mariupol sector.
A commander who listened
In 2017 Sbytov took command of a company. “The main thing is to understand people, to listen, to look into their problems and help solve them,” was how he described his creed as a commander. In 2019 his company won the contest for the best unit of its type in Ukraine’s Armed Forces, and at an exercise in Georgia he was named among the best soldiers taking part. From October 2018 the battalion was based in Mariupol, and in 2021 Pavlo Sbytov became its commander.
Between Mariupol and Volnovakha
After 24 February 2022 Sbytov’s battalion covered the ground between Mariupol and Volnovakha and took the main blow of three russian battalion tactical groups. The marines inflicted heavy losses and kept units of the 53rd Mechanised Brigade from being encircled and destroyed. Major Pavlo Sbytov was killed in battle on 12 March 2022 near the village of Yevheniivka in Donetsk region, aged 27. Four days later he was made a Hero of Ukraine, the country’s highest title, posthumously.
Why it matters today
Pavlo Sbytov showed that a commander’s strength lies in listening to his people and standing beside them. In the first weeks of the full-scale war his marines held off a far stronger enemy and kept a neighbouring brigade from being cut off. He belonged to a generation of officers who trained and fought in independent Ukraine and proved they could lead. Anyone who chooses their own path against expectations can remember his simple words: “this is my thing.”
