Mykola R. Oranskyi (Kashtan)

24-year-old aerial reconnaissance officer Mykola Oranskyi (call sign Chestnut) was killed on March 22, 2024, while performing a combat mission near the village of Robotyne in the Zaporizhia region. First, the occupiers attacked with an FPV drone, as a result of which the fighter was wounded. The second attack became fatal. Mykola was born in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk region. From the age of 18, he volunteered and worked at festivals and music events, including "Faine misto" and "Zaxidfest", and hitchhiked. In 2018, he worked as an operator at TV channel "Rudana". In 2019, he moved to Kyiv, where he worked as an engineer of the television journalist kit at the TV channel "Hromadske". In January 2023, the man voluntarily mobilized into the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Thus, Mykola became a soldier of the 118th Separate Mechanized Brigade. He held the position of unmanned aerial vehicle operator. In January 2024, he received the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine's award "Golden Cross". "Fate brought us together when I had just finished school and was 17, and you were 18. I remember how 7 years ago, after the engagement of the Rubtsovs, we danced from the warehouse to the campfire and sang "Hold me tight". This song became the anthem of our friendship, but you no longer hold. Over the years of our friendship, we shared everything, and I always knew that I could trust you with everything, and my secrets you take with you to the grave. Together we were always happy and young. And one could write many different nice words, but nice words do not come to mind. Instagram does not have a format for posts where all our photos and memories would fit, but many of them I will keep for myself. It turns out that now they all remain only with me," wrote the deceased's friend Yanush Sypukhina. The warrior was buried in Kryvyi Rih. The hero is survived by his parents, younger sister, wife, relatives, friends, and comrades-in-arms.