He could have lived in exile, but he chose war. 20-year-old "Twix" died in the Kursk region while covering his fellow soldiers. At 17, he resisted the occupation. At 19, he joined the Special Operations Forces (SOF). And at 20, he perished while shielding his comrades from shrapnel. This is the story of Anatolii Pavlenko—call sign "Twix." In the Kherson region, he photographed Russian tanks and relayed their coordinates to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Once, the occupiers noticed his "suspicious" behavior; he barely managed to delete everything from his phone in time. His greatest fear was being forcibly conscripted into the Russian army. Friends helped him escape to Latvia. Yet, a quiet life abroad offered him no peace. "A carefree, peaceful life didn't suit him; he couldn't find his place there. He said he missed the adrenaline," recalls a childhood friend. At 19, he joined the Special Operations Forces, becoming a machine gunner and a combat diver. His brothers-in-arms knew him as a guy whose sincerity bordered on naivety—he would always speak the truth directly to someone's face, even if it meant facing punishment. He also adored "Twix" chocolate bars; he would constantly buy them for his comrades, leaving the wrappers scattered all around him. It was because of these treats that he earned his call sign. Once, in the heat of battle, Anatoliy saved the life of his closest comrade-in-arms, "Filia." Filia had been wounded in the arm, and had it not been for the decisive actions of "Twix"—who provided covering fire—Filia would never have made it out alive. Tolik also dreamed of marrying his beloved, Viktoriia. He kept notes of her birthday and her favorite flowers, fearing that the concussions he had sustained might cause him to forget such things. She dreamed of living by the sea—so he rented an apartment in Odesa. Before his final mission, he wrote to her: "Get a manicure. I’ll be back on leave, and we’re definitely getting married." He was killed on January 18, 2025. Now, his favorite candy bars always lie upon his grave. "Teachers used to say, 'You’ll never amount to anything.' But he grew up to be a hero."