The monument was erected in the park on Universytetska Square on May 9, 1960. The T-34 tank is located on a pedestal made of granite blocks. The monument is dedicated to the events of 1943.
In September 1943, the Southwestern Front launched an offensive towards Zaporizhzhia. The troops went on the offensive towards the Zaporizhzhia bridgehead to crush the enemy forces on October 10.
On October 13, the Military Council of the Southwestern Front made the decision to carry out a night assault. This was the first night assault of a large city in Ukraine during World War II.
The tank crew of the platoon commander Mykola Yatsenko was the first to break into Zaporizhzhia. It was during this battle that the tank crew and the landing party cleared the bridge across the Moskovka River of mines and ensured the passage of other combat vehicles. During street fighting on October 14, the tank crew destroyed four enemy tanks, seven vehicles, six guns and mortars, and ten firing points. The platoon commander and the crew members, senior sergeants Georgiy Barikun and Mykhailo Lebedev, were killed in the fight against the enemy.
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