Oleksandr I. Patsalov (Lev)

Soldier Oleksandr Patsalov (call sign Lion) died on October 17, 2023, in the Zaporizhzhia Regional Clinical Hospital. Six days earlier, while performing a combat mission near the village of Verbove in the Zaporizhzhia region, he sustained severe injuries as a result of enemy mortar shelling. On September 23, the fighter turned 27 years old. Oleksandr was born and lived in the village of Kyrnasivka, Vinnytsia region. After completing the 9th grade of the local school, he enrolled in Tulchyn Vocational School No. 41, where he obtained the profession of a forester driver. He had an incredible voice, and his singing captivated from the first notes. All the holidays in his village, the birthdays of friends and acquaintances, were not complete without his singing. In 2014, he started working at the Kyrnasivka poultry farm. In 2019-2020, he served his military service in the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. Later, he worked in various fields. On February 26, 2022, the man was voluntarily mobilized into the ranks of the National Guard of Ukraine. Initially, he served in military unit 3008, and in March 2023, he was transferred to the 14th Assault Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine "Chervona Kalyna". He took the position of a machine gunner in the platoon of the operational purpose battalion (on armored vehicles). He underwent training abroad, and in early October, he set off with his comrades-in-arms to defend the Zaporizhzhia direction. "Always cheerful, life-loving, kind, understanding, the soul of the company - this is how his friends remember him and will remember him. My husband is a Hero, without exaggeration. I, like no one else, know about his patriotic views, love for the country and his village, which he sang about in songs until his last breath. According to his comrades-in-arms, during the evacuation and transportation to the hospital with a severe injury, Sashko sang a song about the red viburnum until he was put into an artificial coma. One evening, we talked with Sasha about the war, and I asked him, "Why did you decide to go as a volunteer during the martial law, you've just returned from military service, and now again to the army?" And Sasha hugged me tightly and said, "In my life, there are three important people: you, mom, and my brother. I don't want anyone to come to our home and take our land." My husband is the best of the best. He fought bravely until the last seconds of his life. He never feared anything, he was extremely brave and courageous. Comrades-in-arms say he was a true warrior, a true combat lion," said the widow of the fallen warrior, Vitalina. The National Guard soldier was buried in his native village. Oleksandr is survived by his mother, brother, and wife.