Oleh I. Hehechkori

Oleh Hegetchkori was born on January 9, 1972, in the village of Hvardiiske, located in Crimea. His father devoted his entire life to military aviation and was a gunner-radio operator on bombers. Oleh's father was Georgian, while his mother was Russian. In grades 9-10, Oleh attended the "Voluntary Society for the Promotion of the Army, Air Force, and Navy," where he began flying on the military training aircraft L-29 with an instructor and later took control himself. After completing his mandatory military service, he trained as a helicopter pilot at the Kremenchuk Flying School from 1992 to 1995. Due to his military studies, he was commissioned as a junior lieutenant and served in one of the military units near the city of Odesa. Less than three years later, the unit was disbanded, and Hegetchkori was transferred to the city of Kherson, to the helicopter squadron of the 11th Separate Brigade of Army Aviation. He spent over 20 years at the controls of a helicopter. Prior to 2014, he repeatedly fulfilled his duties as part of the Ukrainian contingent in the UN missions in Liberia and Sierra Leone and served in the search and rescue brigade. From 2014 onwards, he carried out combat missions in the ATO/OOS zone. He typically delivered cargo and evacuated the wounded. He carried out combat missions in the cities of Debaltseve, Volnovakha, Amvrosiivka, and others. He was awarded the Order "For Courage" III degree. In addition to his main work, he found time to work as an instructor, training young cadets. He held the position of commander of the helicopter squadron of the 11th Separate Brigade of Army Aviation. After the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, he flew in the Kyiv direction, attacking enemy columns. He made several flights a day. On March 8, 2022, he took off to carry out a combat mission, but the occupiers hit his helicopter with a MANPADS, and it crashed near the village of Bervytsia in Kyiv region. He was buried on April 8, 2022, at the Svyshcheve cemetery in Kremenchuk, Poltava region. He is survived by his wife and two children.