Oleksandr I. Serdiuk (Kran)

Senior Sergeant Oleksandr Serdyuk (call sign Crane) was killed on May 17, 2023 in the area of the village of Veselie in the Donetsk region. While carrying out a combat mission, he received fatal injuries during enemy shelling. In 2 days, the defender would have turned 45 years old. Oleksandr was from the village of Perehonovka in the Kirovohrad region. He received secondary education. Later, he moved to the city of Uman in the Cherkasy region, where he lived for over 10 years. He worked as a crane operator at the Renbud company. On the first day of the full-scale Russian invasion, on February 24, 2022, the man joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and went to defend his country from the enemy. He held the position of senior sergeant in the 118th separate brigade of the territorial defense. "I am proud of my husband, the children are proud of their father, the mother is proud of her son, of his courage, strength of spirit. Not everyone can, looking death in the eye, stand shoulder to shoulder with comrades, not fearing for their lives, save others and bravely fight for the freedom of their country. Eternal memory and honor to the Hero who sacrificed himself for a free and independent Ukraine," wrote Kateryna Serdyuk. "He was very caring and always helped everyone. He loved life, us and his native Ukraine," said the deceased's daughter Angelina. "He was the best comrade of our family. He never refused to help, was positive, cheerful, kind, caring. We miss him very much," added Sofiya Savitska. The defender was buried in his native village in the Kirovohrad region. Oleksandr is survived by his wife, son, daughter, relatives, friends and comrades-in-arms.