Oleksandr A. Derevianko (Adams)

Alexander Anatoliyovych Derevyanko was born on November 23, 1997, in Smila, Cherkasy region, where he spent his childhood until the age of 10. He studied at Smila School No. 12 until the 4th grade. He then lived in the village of Voznesenske, Zolotonosha district, Cherkasy region, where he completed his 9-year education. From 2013 to 2017, he studied at the Cherkasy Commercial Technical School in the specialty of "Food Production." Later, he lived in Kyiv and studied at the Cherkasy branch of the European University on a correspondence basis, receiving a bachelor's degree in "Management" in 2020. He was involved in MMA, boxing, and sambo, and participated in competitions. He was a football fan and a member of the fan clubs of the football clubs "Dnipro" (Cherkasy) and "Dynamo" (Kyiv). He was a member of the Cherkasy branch of the "National Corps." In 2019, he joined the ranks of the "National Squads," where he served for a year. In September 2020, he became a fighter in the Azov Regiment. He served in the infantry company and was the gunner of the armored vehicle "Spartan." He met the beginning of the full-scale war of 2022 in Mariupol, where he had been living for two years. He held the position of senior machine gunner of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Company, 3rd Platoon of the separate special purpose unit of the NGU "Azov." On April 3, 2022, as part of the armored vehicle crew, he left the territory of "Azovstal" for positions where the enemy had already surrounded his comrades. Assessing the situation, the crew decided to direct the armored vehicle towards the enemy, drawing attention to themselves and opening a path for the escape of their comrades. The vehicle came under enemy fire, and Alexander was killed in battle. His body was taken by his comrades to "Azovstal." He was buried in Cherkasy on January 14, 2023.