Ivan A. Kotsur (Vovk)

Captain Ivan Kotsur (call sign Wolf) was killed on June 14, 2023 during the assault on enemy positions in the area of the village of Staromaiorskoye in the Donetsk region. The officer received fatal injuries as a result of enemy mortar and artillery shelling. The defender was forever 32 years old. Ivan was born in the village of Ivanivka, Kirovohrad region. He studied at the local school. In 2011, he obtained a higher education at the Central Ukrainian National Technical University in the specialty "Hoisting and transport, road, construction, land reclamation machines and equipment". In 2015, he was drafted into military service and since then has dedicated his entire life to the army. He participated in the ATO / JFO in Donbas. In 2017, he graduated from the Ivan Kozhedub Kharkiv National Air Force University and obtained a second higher education in the specialty "Organization of operation and repair of aviation equipment and weapons". In his free time, he loved to fish. During the full-scale war, Ivan served in the ranks of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He was the deputy commander of the company in the 35th separate marine brigade named after Rear Admiral Mykhailo Ostrohradskyy. During his service, the military was awarded the medals "Veteran of War", "Cossack Cross" of the II degree, "For Achievements in Military Service" of the III and II degrees. "My husband was a special person, he was fair and honest. He always solved all issues, was my support, my life, my everything. He did everything and even more so that we did not need anything. A true patriot of his state, who dedicated his whole life to military service, to the defense of our state, to the defense of us. He called rarely, each time he said that he was doing well, that he loved us, that he should take care of himself and our daughter. He lived for his daughter - she is his soul. He did not say where he was and how, whether he ate or drank - he was always doing well. Although he was in the very hell. Unbearable pain. We love you infinitely, our best dad, husband, son," wrote Olesya Kotsur. The officer was buried in his native village. At home, his wife and daughter were waiting for him.