Ihor O. Prusaiev (Bokser)

Junior Sergeant Ihor Prusaiev (call sign Boxer) was killed on March 2, 2023, while carrying out a combat mission near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. The warrior was 23 years old. Ihor was born and lived in Kakhovka, Kherson region. He graduated from secondary school No. 1 there. He was a member of the Cossack team, engaged in excavations and reburial of the remains of World War II soldiers. He loved sports, practiced boxing and participated in competitions. When the full-scale war began, Kakhovka was occupied by Russian troops. Ihor joined the city public order protection organization "Shield". In March, he was kidnapped by the occupiers. "For almost a week, the boy was tortured and abused. As he later recounted, only his athletic training gave him the strength to stand firm and survive. Not every adult man could withstand such torture. With numerous rib fractures, facial bone fractures, without a single living spot on his body, he was released. Perhaps the experience affirmed his decision to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine," the Kakhovka community reported. When the boy was released, he left his hometown and joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He underwent training as a BMP-2 gunner. He became an infantry rifleman of the Center for the Training Program of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Great Britain. He was to become a sergeant corps leader. As part of the 214th separate special battalion "OPFOR", he went to the front line. "A very bright, good person, a true patriot, a loving son and brother. Glory to the Hero, deep bow," wrote the deceased's fellow countryman Victoria. "Ihor Prusaiev, a 23-year-old young man from Kakhovka, who was killed in the fight for the independence of Ukraine, its territorial integrity and sovereignty, courageously resisting the enemy and remaining faithful to the military oath, will forever remain in the hearts of the people of Kakhovka and in the Book of Memory of all Ukraine. He chose this path and worthily walked it, fighting for the freedom and right to life under a peaceful sky for each of us," the community added. Ihor is survived by his mother and sister.