Andrii K. Avilov (Palomnyk)

Andrii Avilov (call sign Pilgrim), a fighter from the special unit "Kraken", was killed on September 7, 2022, during the liberation of the city of Balakliia in the Kharkiv region from the occupiers. The defender was 26 years old. Andrii was born in Kharkiv. He had dreamed of becoming a defender of Ukraine since he was in 4th grade, when he wrote an essay about it. After school, he graduated from the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University. When the Russian-Ukrainian war began in 2014, Andrii went to the front as a volunteer. He took part in battles near the village of Pisky in the Donetsk region. The same happened at the beginning of the full-scale invasion. On February 26, the young man joined the ranks of the newly formed special unit "Kraken" and, together with his comrades-in-arms, set out to defend Ukraine. "My only son, being an 18-year-old boy in 2014, went to the village of Pisky in the Donetsk region, where he stood up to defend our country. On February 26, 2022, the Pilgrim was already in the regional state administration building. He took part in military operations in Pytomnik, Kramatorsk, Bilohorivka and was killed while carrying out a combat order in the city of Balakliia... Andrii had just got married, he did not have time to have children," the defender's mother said. Andrii was buried in his native Kharkiv. The defender is survived by his parents, sister and wife.