"Daughter wants a real dad, not his photo." Story of coach Mykhailo Korenovskyi, who died in Dnipro missile attack

On January 14, the Russian army launched a missile attack on the city of Dnipro. A direct hit on a residential building at 118 Naberezhna Peremohy Street turned two entry sections into ruins. 46 people were killed. Some victims have not yet been identified, and several people are still being searched for.

Mykhailo Korenovskyi, the owner of the yellow kitchen with apples on the table, died in an apartment on the 8th floor of this building.

Mykhailo had been dreaming of living in this building for years. He was a famous boxer in Dnipro. He worked at a children's and youth sports school, was the head coach of the Dnipro region national team, and was an honored coach of Ukraine.

Mykhailo is survived by his wife Olha, and two daughters aged 14 and 6.

"He didn't have any particularly outstanding fights just because they were all fascinating"

Mykhailo Korenovskyi grew up in the village of Stepne in Odesa Oblast. He had two brothers. At school age, his parents sent the energetic boy to boxing.

"He was eight or nine years old when he started training with me. Our section was at the school. It became immediately clear that Mykhailo was not only promising, but also very determined. We had to take a train to another village, Kremydivka, to attend classes. The station is five kilometers from his home. At first, we trained three times a week, and when he went up a level, we trained six times," recalls Mykhailo Serzheniuk, Korenovskyi's first coach.

The lad quickly became one of the best boxers in his club and the region.

"We had a year when we traveled 14 times to competitions outside the region. Misha was on every trip. He didn't have any particularly outstanding fights just because they were all fascinating. He lost either with a minimal margin or against much stronger opponents," says the coach.

The talented young man was invited to study in Kyiv, Donetsk, and Dnipro. He chose the Dnipro State Institute of Physical Culture and Sports, now called the Prydniprovska Academy. He got in easily because he was in great shape and had the necessary knowledge. Although Mykhailo loved boxing, he did not shy away from science — he was intrigued by math and history.

During his student years, Mykhailo never stopped excelling in sports. He constantly improved and competed a lot. However, when his sports career was in full bloom, he had an accident. While studying in high school, he went to Zaporizhzhya for an international championship. There he had an accident. His life was barely a flicker as he spent the first few days in a coma.

"Before the accident, Misha was full of joy, cheerful, and loud. The soul of the company. We are both boxers, we met at the institute where everyone knew him there. After the accident, he needed time to recover. Both physically and mentally. But he recovered and became himself again," says Bara Baramidze, Mykhailo's friend.

Due to his injuries, the athlete could not return to the ring in full.

"In my opinion, it didn't break him, though. Because he didn't break down, he picked himself up and moved on. After graduation, Misha became a coach. Yes, he had great potential as an athlete, but we need to emphasize how he eventually realized it perfectly. I saw so many people at his funeral — boxers, guys coached by him. He was loved and respected, he was one of the best in the game," says coach Mykhailo Serzheniuk.

Bara Baramidze recalls how a few years after the accident, Mykhailo was offered to participate in a professional fight. His family discouraged him, but he agreed. And he won the bout. But his story as a boxer in the ring was over. Mykhailo focused on his young athletes.

"I came to boxing from gymnastics. I immediately realized that this was already my sport. Mykhailo Mykhailovych became my first coach. We quickly found a common language and became friends. He prepared me so well that I reached the final at my first competition. It was in Berdiansk. He always supported his students, he would help with money and things if someone needed them. He worried and cared about us even outside the ring. He said that we were like children to him," says Vlad Palyvoda who trained with Mykhailo Korenovskyi.

He dreamed of living at 118 Peremohy Embankment

At the age of 25, Mykhailo married a girl from his school. Olha was two grades younger.

"He was popular. He was always mentioned and praised at assembly lines. Girls liked Misha. I was a little girl. When I met him in the corridor, I remember pressing him against the wall and twisting his arms. He didn't resist, and I liked that such a strong boy allowed me to fool around with him," Olha Korenovska recalls.

In the summer of 2007, Olha and Mykhailo met at their high school, both coming to their brothers' graduation. That evening, their relationship began. At first, they lived in different cities, and the distance between Odesa and Dnipro was very upsetting for the girl. A year later, he proposed, and a month and a half later, the couple got married.

"Misha was religious. He insisted that we get married on October 14, the feast of the Intercession, even though it was a Tuesday. He believed that higher powers would protect our family," says Olha.

At first, the family lived in rented housing, far from Naberezhna Peremohy Street. But ever since Mykhailo lived in a dormitory, he dreamed of an apartment in building number 118 on this very street. It was not far from the Dnipro River. The dormitory was next to the building he liked so much.

Mykhailo and Olha have two daughters. Marharyta will turn 14 this year, and Maria is 6. Both of them, according to Olha, were "very much father’s girls."

"He was a very gentle father. He never said no to them. They had a magical childhood, everything they wanted they had. He used to say to me: ‘You are a bad cop, and I am a good cop," Olha recalls.

Mykhailo took his daughters to training, and he and his wife taught them to be active from an early age. However, they did not want to send them to professional sports, only for their general development.

The Korenovskyi family tried to spend weekends together. Mykhailo and Olha, a fitness trainer, didn't take on any students at this time. Instead, they could do household chores, as long as they were with each other. They often traveled around the city and went for walks.

"Misha was very kind. He had many friends. Some of his students became very close to him. After all, he trained not only children but also adults. They would come to visit us, and we would go there. For the last year, Misha liked to get together with men for barbecues and saunas," his wife says.

The family has never had a real vacation together. However, if he had to go to a competition or training camp that lasted several days or weeks, Mykhailo tried to take his family with him. The last trip together was the summer before last. They spent a few days in Lviv.

"After the war, we all dreamed of going on vacation abroad together," says Olha.

When the full-scale invasion began, the Korenovskyi family stayed at home. Mykhailo volunteered a little — he picked up people who had evacuated from the train station, helped them find housing, and supported them financially.

She recognized his golden boxing glove

On January 14, 2023, the couple was supposed to go to see their friends, leaving their daughters at home. But the wife insisted on spending time with the whole family. The daughters had gone for a walk shortly before the tragedy. Mykhailo had just returned from a competition, met with his wife, and stayed home to rest. Olha went out to see her daughters. Her husband was supposed to join her soon.

At about 15:40, an explosion occurred in Dnipro. The missile destroyed two entry sections of the building where Mykhailo was in his apartment.

"When I found out that the missile hit Mykhailo's home, I panicked and started calling, but no one answered. Then I went to the place with a few other people. We weren't allowed to get close, but what we saw was terrible. We couldn’t hold back tears," recalls Vlad Palyvoda, who was coached by Mykhailo.

Mykhailo Korenovskyi's body was found the day after the tragedy. His wife recognized his jewelry — a silver chain with pendants, including a golden boxing glove.

"Misha was haunted by the number 14. He got married in October, had a child in March, and died in January," says his wife.

Olha and her daughters were not physically injured. But the family was shattered emotionally.

"It's like I was hit in the chest, I can't breathe. It's sad, painful, and tough. I want to talk to him and hug him. The girls are grieving. Margarita cried once, I saw her, Marusya cries all the time. She says she wants her real dad, not the one in the photo. She is worried that he got lost. She asks why we are not going home," Olha says.

The woman admits that she has no idea how to live on. Her husband was their support. Only the ruins of the kitchen remain from the apartment they lived in for nine years.

"It was a large, bright, loving home. We were so happy to furnish it, it had everything we needed. Misha always said: 'It's so good to be home’," Olha recalls.

Along with her husband, the family's favorite dog, a nine-year-old Chihuahua named Basia, died in the apartment.

In February, charity boxing tournaments will be held in Dnipro and Odesa to honor the memory of coach Mykhailo Korenovskyi. They promise to repeat them every year — on the athlete's birthday and death.

"These tournaments are very important to me. I want Misha's memory to live on. He deserves it," says his wife.

This text was prepared by the platform Memorial, which tells the stories of civilians killed by Russia and fallen Ukrainian soldiers. To report data on Ukraine's losses, fill out the forms: for fallen military and civilian victims.

Author: Maria Morozova