Oleh V. Rachynskyi (Kazanka)

Sergeant Oleg Rachinsky (call sign Kazanka) was killed on December 30, 2022, in battle with the occupiers near the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. That day, he led a group of defenders who were carrying out a combat mission. They were surrounded when they were evacuating wounded comrades after the battle. Oleg covered the retreat of the group and was fatally wounded in the back. He would have turned 50 in two days. Oleg was born in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk region. After finishing school, he obtained the profession of a crane operator at a vocational school. He worked as a farmer. Since 2015, he has been defending the Motherland in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He participated in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) / Joint Forces Operation (JFO) in Donbas. When the full-scale invasion began, the man first took care of the safety of his relatives, and then returned to the frontline. He fought against the occupiers as part of the 17th Separate Tank Brigade named after Kostiantyn Pestushko. Initially, his unit defended the Kherson region, and then went to the Donetsk region. "My father was one of those military men who never boast of their exploits. His comrades-in-arms valued him very much because they knew he would never abandon his own. Many young men still call him Dad. He taught them everything: how to cook soup, how to shoot properly. I don't know a more worthy person. He had two dreams: that there would never be a war and to marry off his only granddaughter. We miss him very much... He gave his life to save the lives of other comrades-in-arms. I searched for him for a long time, clarified the circumstances of his death, and went to hospitals. On March 6, 2023, I found him in the regional morgue in Kyiv," the deceased's daughter said. The warrior was buried in the Alley of Glory of the Central Cemetery in his hometown. Oleg is survived by his daughter Anna and granddaughter Kira.