Oleksandr A. Paladi (Malysh)

Sergeant Oleksandr Paladi (call sign Malysh) was killed on January 23, 2023, near the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. In the battle with the occupiers, he received a penetrating head wound. The defender was 21 years old. Oleksandr was born in the village of Znamianka, Odesa region. He completed 9 grades of the local secondary school. Then he got a job. And after half a year, he was drafted into the regular military service in the ranks of the State Specialized Transport Service. With the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, the young man took up the defense of his native country. He served in the ranks of the 1935th separate mechanization battalion of the State Specialized Transport Service. In November, together with the unit, he went to defend the Donetsk region. "Sashko was the brightest person I know, with a kind heart and soul. Sensitive, positive, funny, purposeful. He wrote music and always dreamed of being famous. He brought home animals from the streets to feed and warm them. Even on duty, he showed me kittens and puppies, so that we could choose who we would take home after the war," the girl of the fallen said. "He was always cheerful, had many dreams and desires. He said he would come home when the war was over. He really wanted to go to the sea, because he was constantly working and didn't have time for it, and then the war started. He was kind, generous, sensitive. He loved life and enjoyed it. He went to war because he said it was his duty," the relatives added. "Sashko was probably one of those people who just don't know how to be sad. He always smiled and even in the toughest times he found a reason to look at things a little differently - and life didn't seem so gloomy anymore. Even on February 24, he knew for sure that he would defend our country for as long as necessary. During the meetings, which only happened a few times in these months, he was worried about only one thing - whether he was doing enough for our victory. And, of course, he constantly reassured his relatives and friends, as if for him it was just a light walk without any danger. And he himself was in the hot spots that are now mentioned with trepidation," the friends noted. The defender was buried in his native village. At home, Oleksandr was awaited by his mother Svitlana, father Andriy, sisters Natalia and Tetyana, brother Kostiantyn, aunt Lyudmyla, and his beloved girlfriend Anastasia.