Ivan O. Siritsa (Tyshyna, Kolshchyk)

Ivan Siritsa (call sign Kolshchyk) was killed on January 23, 2023, in combat with the occupiers near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. The warrior was 37 years old. Ivan was born and lived in Zaporizhzhia. He studied at the local school. He loved to draw and had a talent for it. He independently assembled a tattoo machine and began to engage in tattooing. He was interested in strategies. He was interested in space and psychology. He loved animals. When the Russian-Ukrainian war began, Ivan joined the local branch of the Right Sector, stood at checkpoints in Zaporizhzhia. In 2015, he invented a story for his relatives that he had received a summons on the tram, so he had to leave. Although in reality, he went as a volunteer to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He participated in the ATO/JFO in Donbas. In 2021, after the end of the contract, he returned home. Together with his family, he went abroad. On the first day of the full-scale war, on February 24, 2022, Ivan gathered his things and went to his homeland. The next day, he was already in Ukraine. He met with his comrades-in-arms and went to the capital. There, he joined the ranks of the Azov Regiment of the Special Operations Forces, which later became the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. "He was the best father to me, it was he who made me the person I am. He was bright, very smart, strong, never complained. He loved to play strategies. And play with our cats," said the deceased's daughter Anastasia. "From the first days of the war, Kolshchyk was in our unit. He always stood out for his cold mind and the desire to go on the assault. At the beginning, he was the only one who knew how the Javelin works, and he taught many fighters to use it. A warrior with a capital letter. Honor, friend," wrote Ivan's comrade Dmytro Kukharchuk. The defender was buried in the St. Nicholas cemetery in Zaporizhzhia. Ivan left behind a wife and daughter.