Oleksandr P. Balan (Skvozniak)

Sergeant Oleksandr Balan (call sign "kvozniak) died on December 11, 2023, while carrying out a combat mission in the area of the village of Berestove in the Donetsk region. The warrior was 23 years old. Oleksandr was from the village of Zavallia in the Khmilnytskyi region. He graduated from a vocational school and obtained the profession of an electrician. He mostly worked in his specialty abroad. The young man was drafted into the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the mobilization on December 5, 2022. He served in the 10th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade "Edelweiss". He was the commander of a motorized infantry platoon in the motorized infantry battalion. Together with his comrades-in-arms, he defended the Donetsk region. "My brother had a very difficult fate. In 2010, his mother, the sister of my mother, was killed by the hands of her older son. Of course, my mother took him into our family. We were together all through childhood, so when he moved to live with us, we were already very close. We loved and love our boy very much. Even when it was very difficult for him, Oleksandr still smiled so that no one would be upset!" said Anastasia Nikonenko. Oleksandr was buried in his native village. He is survived by his guardians and a sister. The military man was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage of the III degree.