The remains of Soviet pilot Stepan Kovalenko were reburied in the Beshenkovichi district

In the common grave of Soviet soldiers and partisans, junior lieutenant Stepan Kovalenok, a native of Beshenkovichi district, whose remains were found during excavations near Gelendzhik, was reburied, a BELTA correspondent reports.
Stepan Kovalenok was a senior pilot. In February 1943, he took off on a combat mission and did not return. The air battle was the last for the 25-year-old junior lieutenant.

Deputy Head of the Municipal Formation City-Resort Gelendzhik Andrey Ermakov

The wreckage of his I-16 fighter jet was discovered in 2021 near Gelendzhik by searchers from "Kubanpoisk". Fortunately, it was possible to determine who the aircraft belonged to and the pilot's name. And this summer, relatives of the fallen hero, who was awarded the Order of the Red Star for his valor and courage, were found. Stepan Kovalenko's relatives wished to rebury him in his native land. The remains of the Soviet pilot were transferred to the region by the authorities of Gelendzhik, and the delegation included the head of the Beshenkovichi district, Galina Unukovich. She said that the ceremony of transferring the pilot's remains took place in a very touching atmosphere. Belarusians vacationing in Gelendzhik approached the delegation from the Beshenkovichi district, and when they learned about the discovered remains of a native of the Vitebsk region, they cried. "These were tears of loss for a once common Soviet people, and regardless of nationality, we were all united," shared the head of the district.

Chairperson of the Council of the Republic Natalya Kochanova

"BELTA"