Oleh V. Hromadskyi (Boroda)

Oleg Vyacheslavovych Hromadskyi was born on March 28, 1973, in the village of Krupoderintsi, Orzhytsia district, Poltava region (according to other sources, in the village of Savyntsi). After finishing school, he attempted to enroll in a paratroopers school but did not pass due to health issues. In August 1991, he entered the Saratov military school. Despite finding himself in Russia after the collapse of the USSR, he wished to serve in Ukraine and contacted the National Guard regarding this matter. In 1993, he participated in the patrols of Moscow during the August coup. During one of his leaves home, he received an order to report to the Kharkiv Ministry of Internal Affairs school, which turned out to be the National Guard Institute of Ukraine. After an intensive training course, he was awarded the rank of lieutenant. In 2000, as part of the 6th division of the National Guard, which joined the 92nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, he transitioned to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. During the Revolution of Dignity and after its conclusion, he was a member of the coordination council of the Kharkiv Euro-Maidan. In 2014, he joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine as part of the 16th Separate Motorized Infantry Battalion "Poltava." He commanded the battalion from 2015 to 2017. In 2016, he was appointed as an advisor to the head of the Poltava Regional State Administration. He held the position of senior officer of the current operations center group of the Joint Operational Headquarters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He was later released to the reserve. In April 2021, together with volunteers, activists, and patriotic politicians, he founded the "Defense Headquarters of Kharkiv Region." The goal of the organization was to form territorial defense battalions and mobilize the population in the face of impending danger from Russia. Killed in action on February 24, 2022, on the first day of Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine. Oleg Hromadskyi, along with his comrades from the territorial defense unit, was driving in a jeep past unexploded shells when one of them detonated, causing injuries incompatible with life.