Oleksandr L. Kulyk (Mamai)

Junior Sergeant Oleksandr Kulyk (call sign Mamai) was killed on April 25, 2022, near the city of Lyman in Donetsk region. The defender was 26 years old. Oleksandr was born in the city of Rivne. At the age of 4, he began to read. Since then, books have always been his best gift. He graduated from a local school with honors, participated in Olympiads. He practiced combat hopak, protected animals, was interested in everything related to military affairs. He stu economics at Ivan Franko Lviv National University with excellent grades, participated in sports, traveled, and hiked in the Carpathians. In 2015, he volunteered from the "Right Sector" to go to war. He held the position of machine gunner-scout, actively participated in combat operations in the ATO / JFO area. In 2017, he received a bachelor's degree in economic theory with knowledge of foreign languages, entered the master's program, and a year later passed the exams for the 3rd Special Operations Forces Regiment and signed a contract for military service. "I told him then: 'But you will return as a gray-haired grandfather, what kind of bride will you find?' He replied, smiling, 'My bride is always with me. My bride is Ukraine,'" recounted his mother, Lyudmyla. He constantly improved his military training, upgraded his qualifications. He acquired many specialties: sapper, flamethrower, paramedic. He completed leadership, survival, and Q-course training. Oleksandr leaves behind his parents, brothers, and other relatives. Posthumously, he was awarded the Order "For Courage" III degree and the Medal "For Military Service to Ukraine". Makarova Street, where Oleksandr Kulyk and his comrade-in-arms Vladyslav Hudaichek lived in neighboring houses, was renamed in their honor. In Rivne, a memorial sign was also opened in honor of the defenders.