Oleksandr M. Kirsanov (Kira)

Senior Lieutenant Oleksandr Kyrsanov (call sign Kira) was killed on February 26, 2022, while performing a combat mission near the city of Severodonetsk in Luhansk region. The officer was 28 years old. Oleksandr was born in the city of Bilopillia, Sumy region. He was raised by his mother along with his older sister and brother. The boy wanted to become a military serviceman since childhood. After school, he joined the military service. There, he finally decided to dedicate his life to military affairs and stayed in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served in the 27th Reactive Artillery Brigade and was the commander of the reactive multiple launch rocket system "Hurricane." As part of this brigade, he fought in Donbas since 2014. He defended the city of Debaltseve, the city of Shchastia, and other settlements in Luhansk and Donetsk regions. During his service, Oleksandr proved himself to be a responsible and brave warrior. He then continued to improve himself in military affairs. He entered the Air Defense Faculty of the Kharkiv National University of the Air Force named after Ivan Kozhedub. During his studies, Oleksandr united cadets around him and was the commander of a group. In his free time, he made leather goods. Now, many of his officer friends use wallets made by Oleksandr Kyrsanov. From July 2021, in the composition of the 79th Separate Air Assault Brigade, he defended the borders of Luhansk region. Oleksandr Kyrsanov commanded a battery. At the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, his brigade was one of the first to engage in battle with the occupiers in that territory. According to his comrade-in-arms, Vitaliy, for 10 days, they performed combat tasks. Their ZRPK vehicle covered the retreat of other units. When they came out from under enemy fire, Vitaliy and Oleksandr had to return to their positions to meet the Russian paratroopers. Two enemy shells hit their positions, resulting in Oleksandr sustaining fatal injuries. "The day I found out that my husband was killed was the most terrible for me. In the morning, we were still talking, and in the evening, I was told that you are gone. You were my example, my pride, my friend, and my beloved person. They took away my most valuable thing - my family. My husband," said the officer's wife, Alina. The defender was buried at the Kransopil Military Cemetery in the city of Dnipro. Oleksandr left behind his parents, sister, brother, and wife. Senior Lieutenant Oleksandr Kyrsanov was posthumously awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky III degree.