Mykola O. Kurochka

Mykola Oleksandrovych Kurichka was born on December 19, 1996, in the city of Okhtyrka, Sumy region. In school, he was passionate about football, and after graduation, he chose to become a builder. In 2015, he joined the National Guard of Ukraine. Two years later, he went to the ATO zone, where he fought until 2021. In January 2022, as the threat of a full-scale war was already felt, he joined the ranks of the Okhtyrka Defense Battalion, where he served until the war began. With the onset of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the territorial defense serviceman took up arms to defend his hometown. He died in battles for the city of Okhtyrka. On February 24, 2022, an enemy column of equipment entered Okhtyrka. This was the vanguard of the Russian offensive forces. The enemy's equipment losses began with a precise shot by Mykola Kurichka using an anti-tank weapon at a vehicle loaded with ammunition. He was killed on February 28, 2022, during a reconnaissance operation near the village of Voronivshchyna in Poltava region.