Oleksandr O. Holban

Soldier Oleksandr Holban (call sign Best) took his last fight on September 10, 2024 near the village of Cherkaska Konopelka in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation. The defender is now forever 34 years old. Oleksandr was from the village of Hulanka in the Odesa region. He lived in the city of Romny in the Sumy region. He received secondary education and moved to Kyiv. He worked as a tire fitter, a painter at the "Nifko" factory in Poland, and at the Kobzarenko plant. He was passionate about cooking and loved to cook. When the full-scale war began, the man was in Poland. He immediately decided to return home and defend his homeland. So, in 2022, he became a soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served in the 80th separate airborne assault Halytska brigade. During training in the UK, Oleksandr was among the top three students, and he was called Best, hence the call sign. He defended the homeland near Svatove and Kreminna in the Luhansk region, near Bakhmut and Lyman in the Donetsk region, participated in the liberation of the Kharkiv region, and then went on a special operation to the Kursk region of the Russian Federation. In May 2024, he underwent training in Germany, where he learned to use new military equipment. For his participation in the counteroffensive to liberate the Kharkiv region, he received the award "Defender of the Fatherland", and was also awarded a medal and a distinction from the President of Ukraine "For the Defense of Ukraine". "When the full-scale invasion began, my husband returned from Poland and voluntarily went to the Romny military enlistment office to defend his native land. At first, they refused him. Later, on June 20, 2022, my husband was mobilized. In April 2023, he was injured during the defense of Bakhmut, but after 3 months of rehabilitation in Kyiv, he returned to the front line. Comrades-in-arms remember that Oleksandr was a skilled military, a faithful and good comrade, very brave, honest, responsible, hardworking and qualified serviceman, a wonderful warrior who found himself in the military. His passion for cooking was also needed in the war - he cooked delicious dishes for his comrades-in-arms. In gratitude, friends called Sasha "our mom"... My husband planned to open his own business after the war: to create a cozy cafe or restaurant for community residents where he would cook dishes from his own recipes. The most important thing our defender wanted was to give the children a bright future in a peaceful country... But it was not to be..." - said the widow of the fallen Yulia. The paratrooper was buried in the central cemetery in the city of Romny. Oleksandr is survived by his wife, son, daughter, sisters and brother.