Andrii O. Kyzylo (Orel)

Andriy Kyzylo was born in Uman, from a dynasty of military personnel. From childhood, he wanted to become a soldier, like his grandfather and father, so after graduating from the 9th grade of Uman City Gymnasium No. 2 in 2008, he entered the Kyiv Military Lyceum named after Ivan Bohun, a graduate of 2010. During his studies at the lyceum, he participated in the military parade in honor of the 18th anniversary of Ukraine's Independence, which took place on August 24, 2009 in Kyiv. He continued his studies at the National Academy of Ground Forces named after Hetman Petro Sahaidachny, a graduate of the Faculty of Combat Use of Troops in 2014. In May 2014, he was enlisted in the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade (military unit A2167, Bila Tserkva). From July 2014, he participated in hostilities in Eastern Ukraine, in the Donetsk region. He became a company commander at the age of 21. He participated in the battles for the village of Petrivske, Volnovakha district, on February 14, 2015, and the village of Novolapa, Boykivskyi district, on August 10, 2015. For over 1.5 years, the personnel of the company under the command of Senior Lieutenant Kyzylo held the defense in the fields in the area of Volnovakha. In 2015, Andriy was recognized as the best company commander in sector "M". Later, he was appointed deputy commander of the 1st Mechanized Battalion of the 72nd OMBr. Deputy Commander of the Brigade Valeriy Hudz: "I first met Andriy at the end of August 2014 in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, where the battalion was restoring its combat capability. The lieutenant, who had just come from the academy, was trying to repair the BMP! The fact that he was covered in grease seemed not to bother him at all. The main thing is the result. For the rest of the days that I observed the young officer, he continued to delight the eyes of the battalion commander: he tried in every way to improve his BMP driving skills, fire drills. After a few weeks, already in the ATO area, near the village of Petrivske, I assigned him to one of the most problematic positions at the junction of two companies, where the militants were very active. Andriy competently organized the fire system, the fortification of positions. Every morning he went around every trench, every shelter. When I inspected this position, everything was done practically perfectly from the point of view of military science. And soon I decided to appoint him company commander. In 2015, he was recognized as the best company commander in sector "M." A year later, when Andriy was promoted to Senior Lieutenant, we were already considering him as a candidate for Chief of Staff of the Battalion. And when the position of Deputy Commander became vacant in the 1st Battalion, there was no hesitation about who to appoint. And in this position, Andriy proved himself very well. That is why he was nominated for early promotion to the rank of Captain. He combined in a strange way everything that the word "officer" encompasses. It is about such guys that they say: he is the future of our army. And we lost him…". Press officer of the brigade, Junior Sergeant Olena Mokrenchuk: "Have you seen his eyes?… You can't help but believe such eyes. And people trusted him. Under his command, over 100 soldiers participated in battles near Petrivske and Nova Laspa, holding the defense for 1.5 years on one of the most important directions near Volnovakha. He was respected and unquestioningly obeyed by much older and more experienced soldiers who had been through heavy battles at the beginning of the ATO, even senior commanders listened to his opinion. Andriy never did anything spontaneously - always only carefully thought out. Even at war, he found time for self-improvement. When we were still in Volnovakha, he once asked me to find him… an English teacher! I found one. And when it was quiet on the positions, he immediately went to the lesson: he needed English for his future admission to the National Defense University. He was always sincere, balanced. Despite all his merits and experience, it was almost impossible to persuade him to talk about his own exploits. And he was also incredibly modest. Once I told him that he would soon become a general. Andriy blushed then: "What are you talking about? I'm just doing my job…". Serhiy (call sign Gosha): "I am already demobilized, I fought in the third wave with Andriy, he was our commander. Neither I nor my friends ever thought about how old he was, and it turned out that he was only 23… And we always perceived him as a mentor. He could find common ground with everyone, convince them if necessary. And he never hid behind anyone's back."