Oleksandr I. Mykhalchenko

30-year-old soldier Oleksandr Mykhailchenko was killed in action on July 10, 2022, during a rocket attack on the city of Kurov, Donetsk region. Sashko was born near the Southern Bug, in the village of Myhiia, Mykolaiv region. He stu at the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute named after I. Sikorsky, Odessa National University named after I. Mechnikov, and Mykolaiv National Agrarian University. He worked as a rafting instructor. He was fond of rafting, tourism, playing the guitar, music, and self-development. Many people under his guidance got acquainted with water tourism and the turbulent Myhiia rapids. When the war began, he went to defend his land without hesitation. He held the position of radio miner of the engineering support group at the 169th Training Center "Desna" named after Prince Yaroslav the Wise. "Sasha will forever remain in our memory as a very sincere person, a true soul of the company. He could never sit still, always striving to find something new, interesting, and unforgettable," his sister Galina says. "Sometimes you see a person and from the first time you understand that this is your own. His bright eyes, strong body, accurate humor, wise thoughts, his confidence and charisma radiated a strong Cossack character. Sashko introduced me to the Myhiia rapids, rafting, and the history of his region. We jumped with him into the most turbulent rapids from the highest rock above the Southern Bug, paddled through the rapids, spent the night under the stars on the hills of the Buzhsky grad, gazed at millions of stars, the Milky Way, and the Moon, brewed strong southern tea (he had a special one), talked about Ukraine, girls, and life in general. He was a glorious kozarlyga. He a hero. And heroes are alive as long as they are remembered. I will remember Sashko, and my children will remember him too. We have a duty to Sashko - to kill all these Russian scum," said his friend and Ukrainian defender Vasily Volotuga. The defender was buried in his native village of Myhiia. His mother, father, and sister did not wait for their defender to return from the war.