Ihor O. Kurkostryha (Vikinh)

Lieutenant Igor Kurkostriga (call sign Viking) was killed on March 5, 2023, while carrying out a combat mission near the settlement of Bilohorivka in the Luhansk region. After the shelling, he went to check on his comrades, and during this time a new artillery barrage began. The officer received fatal injuries. He was 37 years old. Igor was born and lived in Dnipro. He graduated from the Dnipro Metallurgical Academy. He worked as the acting chief metallurgist at PJSC "Dnipropetrovsk Rolling Mill Plant". He was passionate about the history of his hometown and loved its architecture. During the full-scale war, Igor defended Ukraine as part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He fought against the occupiers in the ranks of the 54th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after Hetman Ivan Mazepa. He commanded a platoon. Together with his comrades, he defended the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. "Igor was a wonderful, decent person, an outstanding metallurgist, a good commander whom the boys respected and looked up to, a good son and my beloved husband," said the wife of the fallen Kristina. The officer was buried at the Krasnopilskyi cemetery in his hometown. At home, his mother and wife were waiting for Igor.