Oleksandr S. Kutsenko (Kinoloh)

26-year-old senior soldier Oleksandr Kutsenko (call sign Kinolog) was killed on April 23, 2023 near the village of Novokalynove in the Donetsk region. While performing his duties, he sustained fatal explosive injuries during enemy artillery shelling. Oleksandr was born in the village of Oleksandrivka, Cherkasy region. He lived in the village of Vilshanka. He graduated from the 11th grade of a rural school. He then obtained the profession of a welder at the Bila Tserkva Vocational and Technical School. He served compulsory military service in the National Guard of Ukraine. In his free time, he loved to play football. Later, he decided to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine under a contract. In 2019, he carried out combat missions in the area of the Joint Forces Operation. In 2020, he entered the Uman National University of Horticulture, Faculty of Economics and Entrepreneurship. He continued to serve in the Zhashkiv military unit. During the full-scale invasion, the man served in the 137th separate marine battalion of the 35th separate marine brigade named after Rear Admiral Mykhailo Ostrohradskyy. He was a machine gunner. "Sasha really wanted to protect his children, he was kind and calm. He had many plans for life. He loved playing football and wanted to be a footballer, but it didn't work out. On November 24, 2020, Oleksandr and I got married. We have two children, whom he loved very much, valued and wanted the best for them. My husband has many awards and medals. His comrades-in-arms remember him as a kind, fair person who is always ready to help. Family was the first priority for Sasha, he loved me and the children very much. His last words before his death were: 'I love you very much.' I remember them with inconsolable pain. For me and the children, he was the best husband and dad," said Karyna Kutsenko. The defender was buried in his native village. At home, his wife and son and daughter were waiting for him.