Oleksandr V. Maksymovych

43-year-old Master Sergeant Oleksandr Maksymovych was killed on March 12, 2022 in the Chernihiv region. That day, the soldier volunteered to carry out a raid in the frontline zone in order to provide the unit with fuel. While driving a GAZ-66 vehicle, he was leading a column of three vehicles from the village of Budy towards the village of Hrabivka and hit an anti-tank mine. Oleksandr sustained fatal injuries, while the passenger survived. The warrior was from the city of Hlukhiv, Sumy region. In 1993, he graduated from secondary school No. 4. In 1996, he obtained the profession of a driver at the Hlukhiv Vocational School No. 31. He worked as a passenger bus driver. In 1996-1998, he served in the 169th Training Center "Desna", first as a cadet and then as a driver of the military vehicle inspection. After that, he served under contract in the units of the Sumy Border Guard Unit. In 2011, he was discharged to the reserve with the rank of Senior Warrant Officer. He received a military pension. Until 2020, he worked as a driver of tractor-trailers in EU countries and that same year signed a contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The man served in the 16th Separate Motorized Infantry Battalion "Poltava" of the 58th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade named after Hetman Ivan Vyhovsky. He held the position of the commander of the mortar platoon mortar battery section. The full-scale war caught Oleksandr in his hometown, where he was serving. On February 24, 2022, the enemy's columns cut off the path to retreat, so the Ukrainian military were moving to more advantageous positions, being surrounded. This is how they ended up in the Chernihiv region. The hero was buried at the Verehinsky cemetery in his hometown. Oleksandr Maksymovych is survived by his parents Volodymyr and Raisa, daughter Viktoriia, son Danylo, and other relatives, friends, and comrades-in-arms. Oleksandr Maksymovych was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage of the III degree.