Oleh P. Mahrelo (Bosyi)

Junior Sergeant Oleh Mahrello (call sign Bosiy) was killed on April 3, 2023, in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, while carrying out a combat mission. He sustained fatal injuries while shielding his comrade. The defender was 48 years old. Oleh was born in Sarny, Rivne region. He studied at school No. 3 and at a music school, specializing in the accordion. After that, he continued his education at vocational school No. 22 and was later drafted into the army. After demobilization, he began working at the Katerynivka correctional colony, and later at the Horodyshche correctional colony. At the age of 34, he retired on a long-service pension. He held the rank of warrant officer. He lived with his family in the village of Yasynynychi, Rivne region. Before mobilization, he worked at the OKKO gas station. In September 2023, he voluntarily joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He held the position of senior operator of an anti-drone rifle in the 3rd separate assault brigade. "We lived with Oleh for over 15 years. He had an incredible attitude towards me. He was loving, tender, and understanding. He supported and protected me. At one point, I spent three months in a neurosurgical institute. He took care of me, lying down after the operation. He said we would cope together. He respected that I gave him two daughters. He was a loving father. He affectionately called them Vityuska and Oksanochka. He taught them to respect their elders, to be polite, kind, and sincere. He took them fishing, together we made dumplings and grilled shashlik. The children miss him greatly. He was everything to me, and I lost him..." said his wife Viktoria. "Oleh went to defend the country voluntarily from September 23, 2023. Without going through the commission. Because he had a conclusion from the military medical commission when he retired that he was unfit for service in peacetime or wartime. When I last spoke to him, he said he wanted the children to grow up in peace, that he would not return because he felt his death. They said that on that day, there was shelling at the position, he pushed a younger comrade. He saved him, but he was hit. That's how he was in life, helping everyone who needed it," added Viktoria. Oleh was buried in the Alley of Glory of Heroes in Sarny. The defender is survived by his wife, daughters, a son from his first marriage, and parents.