Oleh Ye. Kret (Poet)

Soldier Oleg Kret (call sign Poet) was killed on January 26, 2024 while carrying out a combat mission near the village of Novokalynove in the Donetsk region. On February 7, the defender would have turned 35 years old. Oleg was born and lived in Lviv. He studied at the Oriyana Lyceum. Later, he graduated from the Lviv Higher Vocational School and obtained the qualification of an electrician for the repair and maintenance of electrical equipment of the 3rd category. In civilian life, he worked as an electrician at a grate floor factory in Lviv. He was passionate about poetry and wrote poems. The man joined the ranks of the defenders in March 2023. Oleg served in the 71st separate Jaeger brigade of the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He fought on the southern and eastern fronts. "For me, he will always be a younger brother, even if he is taller and stronger than me. He had so much love and kindness for his family and loved ones, he knew how to truly forgive. Always smiling, extremely sensitive, his poems are full of emotions that he didn't always manage to express in life. Working as an electrician, he was passionate about the topic of renewable energy sources, read a lot about it and even installed solar panels. He adored bike rides, even when the weather was not conducive to it, and he loved animals very much. Chornynka (our cat) never left him when he was at home. His path as a warrior (the Zaporizhia and Avdiivka directions) was short - about 11 months, but I know that he overcame it as best he could, because that's the only way he knew how. Oleg's commander wrote to me after his death: 'Your brother was a brave guy. Not very dexterous and fast, but strong and persistent. And he never feared to go and do our difficult work. Honor.' He wanted, very much wanted to live in a peaceful Ukraine, to work, to dream, to write poems, to love, but he was killed as a warrior, defending me, my family, us. One of his poems, which is very relevant in our difficult conditions: 'The greatest evil is ignorance, the greatest sin is to judge someone. They give birth to millions of troubles all over the world every day...' - shared the sister of the fallen Maria Kret. The defender was buried in the Field of Honorable Burials of the Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv. Oleg is survived by his mother, brother, two sisters, nephews and in-laws. The soldier was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage of the III degree.