Ilya "Rudy" Goncharov is a fan of the "Metalist" football club (Kharkiv), a representative of the "Kharkiv City Patriots" team.

Ilya Serhiyevich Goncharov was born on August 2, 1995 in the city of Kharkiv. Studied at school No. 151, gymnasium No. 83, as well as Kharkiv Mechanical Engineering College. As a child, he liked to go out with friends and tried to do various sports, including swimming. Later, when he joined the fan club, he mastered kickboxing and kickboxing

In 2010, after the 9th grade of school, Ilya entered college, and at the same time began to visit the "Metalista" fan club. Having quickly found his place among the top team in the Kharkiv sectors, he not only supported the team at the stadium, but also defended his native colors in fights. Friends from the team remember that, despite his relatively small size, Ilya had fighting qualities, courageous character and endurance. According to their memories, he always fought for victory and did not give up when failures occurred.

He was a participant in the revolutionary events of 2014. Arriving at the capital's Maidan, during the week, together with other representatives of the fan community, he chose a free future for our country. Ilya was modest and did not like to tell about his deeds even to his relatives. Relatives learned much later from the stories of eyewitnesses that he was pulling out a wounded person on the Maidan. Returning to Kharkiv, he fought on the streets of the city with supporters of the so-called "Russian Spring".

In the same year, he was one of the first among Kharkiv fans to join the ranks of "Azov". He defended Ukraine during the war in the east, taking part in all the most famous operations. Battles for Shyrokyne, Maryinka, liberation of Mariupol. In 2015, he was awarded the "Defender of Mariupol" commemorative sign.

The beginning of a full-scale invasion was met by "Rudy" in Mariupol. During the defense of the city, he was the commander of the AGS settlement. He worked against the enemy with a grenade launcher, destroying a lot of the enemy's manpower. Ilya Goncharov died on May 15, 2022, having received multiple shrapnel wounds as a result of being hit by a mine.

In his book "Mariupol. The book of the brave" Ruslan "David", one of the defenders of the city, recalls the last hours of his fellow man's life: - "...It was not difficult to understand that it was the arrival of a mine that lay next to the position of the AGS. "Rudy" had open fractures arms and legs, shrapnel wounds almost all over the body, moreover, the naked eye could see pieces of skin torn out by stones and earth. ...He held his ground like a real warrior, and despite the extremely heavy wounds, he did not cry, did not sob, but only growled , like a real tiger. I was filled with pride that I was fighting side by side with such people. ... Only a few minutes passed when the doctor called me and pointed to the lifeless body of "Redhead" ... He died already on the table, just in the hands of the doctors. ...The mood was bad, it was a pity that we did not have time to save him. But I was proud to know Rudy personally. He is a real man who died with a gun in his hands. ..".

On July 28, 2022, he was awarded the Order "For Courage" III degree (posthumously).