Oleksandr V. Taran (Karat)

34-year-old senior sergeant Oleksandr Taran (call sign Karat) was killed on March 2, 2023 in battle for the city of Bakhmut in Donetsk region. The defender sustained fatal injuries during enemy mortar shelling. Oleksandr was from the settlement of Chupakhivka in Sumy region. In 2006, he graduated from the Lebedyn Higher Vocational School of Forestry and obtained the qualification of automobile crane operator. In 2008-2011, he served in the military in Okhtyrka. He then moved to the Kharkiv region. He worked as a security guard at the ROST supermarket in Kharkiv. He was married and lived with his family in Izium. He was passionate about cars. His favorite hobby was fishing. In 2018, he went to fight for his Homeland, signing a contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served in the 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade "Kholodny Yar". He carried out combat missions in the ATO/JFO area. He met the full-scale invasion together with his comrades-in-arms on the Eastern Front. "My husband was the best. He was kind, fair, sensitive, and positive. He was a man of his word. Everyone who knew him always remembers my husband with respect. But, unfortunately, the war takes the best," said the wife of the fallen soldier. The warrior was buried in his native Chupakhivka in Sumy region. Oleksandr is survived by his mother Anna Vasylivna, wife Aliona, son Oleksandr, sister Svitlana, relatives, friends, and comrades-in-arms. Oleksandr Taran was posthumously awarded the "Defender of the Fatherland" distinction.