Oleh Afanas (Afonia)

Kyianin. Senior soldier, scout-sniper in the 81st Separate Airborne Assault Brigade. He died on April 23, 2016, near Avdiivka while performing a reconnaissance mission. Oleg Afanas was born on October 7, 1991, in the city of Soroca, Moldova. Initially, he lived with his family in the city of Vasilkeu, later he lived and grew up in his grandmother's house in the village of Khristych. From childhood, he was talented in his studies, especially in the exact sciences. He always had a knack and a desire to learn new things, to discover previously unknown interesting knowledge in the field of mathematics, computer science. From a young age, he was active, cheerful, conscientious, sensitive, quick-witted, responsible, helped his parents and grandmother around the house, had good physical fitness. He was interested in motorcycles, cars, computers, loved electronic music, outdoor recreation. In 2002, he moved to Kyiv with his mother and brother. Here, he and his brother were enrolled in secondary school No. 12. In 2009, he entered the European University, Faculty of Information Systems and Computer Technologies. On September 8, 2014, he joined the ranks of the UNSO battalion as part of the 54th reconnaissance battalion. He did not discuss his decision with his family. Before becoming a volunteer, he equipped himself at his own expense. He understood that there were no trifles in this matter. From September 8, 2014, he spent the first 2 months in training and learning at the Novohrad-Volynsky training ground in Zhytomyr Oblast. In October of the same year, he joined the ranks of the newly created 81st Separate Airmobile Airborne Assault Brigade, took the position of sniper of the 1st department of the 2nd platoon of the reconnaissance company. He underwent active training and from January 12, 2015, he took direct part in the defense of Donetsk airport. “He had a balanced nervous system, he was a sniper from God. In this business, you need to take into account many factors and stay calm in order to complete the task and not harm yourself or your unit. Oleg was like that. He didn't drink, didn't smoke. He was very careful, had brains and had a "nose". He was restrained, responsible, had analytical thinking and golden hands”, - said the soldier's stepfather Yevhen Bohdan. Oleg signed a contract until the end of the special period. “Nothing could be achieved from him. But somehow I managed to find out where he went. These were such places, such tasks that your hair stands on end. They sat for weeks behind enemy lines, they even forgot about them at headquarters. They destroyed enemy mortar crews. In Telmanove, they liquidated a Chechen terrorist and three Russian soldiers. I learned this information in bits and pieces, or even by chance. Oleg walked on the other side of life - that's the job of a scout.” From the job description: “During his service in the position, he has proven himself only from the positive side as a competent, diligent and disciplined soldier. He had good and excellent grades in special training. He constantly worked on improving his military knowledge and training. He knew and fulfilled the requirements of regulatory documents well. Through his activities, he constantly maintained the combat readiness of the subordinate unit at a high level and provided high-quality professional training to other units of the unit. In the areas of combat missions, his group equipped more than a dozen observation and firing points, which to this day serve as reliable defense of the front line from unexpected actions of the enemy. A large number of mine and engineering barriers were eliminated by the scout during the inspection of forest areas in the "gray" zones, at the locations of the missions. Thanks to his guidance, artillery units easily destroyed several enemy strongholds and inflicted irreparable losses on enemy personnel. Two attacks by reconnaissance groups in the area of Donetsk airport were successfully repelled thanks to the successful actions under the command of the senior soldier. He was constantly involved in reconnaissance operations behind enemy lines. He was repeatedly appointed as the senior group. Due to his high professional training, he skillfully commanded the group behind enemy lines, much valuable information was obtained, measures were taken to counter the enemy's sabotage and reconnaissance groups.” In the spring of 2016, Oleg was sent to a sniper school at the Zhytomyr training ground. At this time, he saw his family every weekend. Having extensive military experience and natural abilities, he graduated from school with honors. He received an offer to stay as an instructor. “But Oleg didn't leave his work unfinished. He returned to the Avdiivka industrial zone to prepare the unit for withdrawal and positions for successors. Avdiivka is a very "dense" territory, sometimes the distance to the separatists is 100 meters,” said Yevhen Bohdan. Oleg Afanas died on April 23, 2016, around 8:00 a.m. as a result of being blown up by a fragmentation anti-personnel mine (MON-50) set on a tripwire, covering his comrades from being wounded with his body. At 14:00 of the same day, Oleg's unit was withdrawn from the combat zone. His parents, brother and fiancée are left in grief. He is buried at the Berkovetsky cemetery in Kyiv. He was posthumously awarded the Order "For Courage" III degree. ``