Oleksandr Ye. Hostishchev

Olexandr Yevhenovych Hostyshev was born on February 19, 1983, in Dnipropetrovsk. With the onset of the war in Eastern Ukraine, Olexandr Hostyshev volunteered for the "Dnipro-1" battalion. He became the commander of the 1st company, which participated in the liberation of Mariupol from illegal armed groups in June 2014. In August 2014, Olexandr, along with a group of servicemen, entered the surrounded city of Amvrosiivka in the Donetsk region to rescue and retrieve an injured comrade from the hospital. During the operation, disguised in civilian clothes, Olexandr and a colleague entered the Amvrosiivka hospital, retrieved the injured soldier, but upon learning that more of our fighters were being brought to the hospital, he called for a reinforcement group and took up defense, covering the retreat of our defenders from Savur-Mohyla. Subsequently, he organized five ambulances from Mariupol to evacuate the wounded. His actions saved more than one life that day. Olexandr Hostyshev professionally commanded the company and carried out tasks to clear the city of Ilovaisk from illegal armed groups. Thanks to the successful operations of the battalion, 52 servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were evacuated from the encirclement in Ilovaisk. In 2015, Olexandr Hostyshev headed the Zhovkva police department of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Lviv region, and then the patrol police units in the cities of Sievierodonetsk, Lysychansk, and Rubizhne in the Luhansk region. From 2018 to 2019, Olexandr led the patrol police department in the Luhansk region. In July 2019, he took charge of the preventive activity department of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Odesa region, and from November 2019, he was appointed head of the patrol police department in the Odesa region of the Patrol Police Department. In December 2021, he took the position of deputy head of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Odesa region. From April 2022 to February 2023, he was the commander of the consolidated battalion of the National Police of Ukraine "Tsunami" and conducted combat missions to defend the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions in southern Ukraine. In the Odesa region, from April to June 2022, he organized and participated in 22 operational-combat measures against sabotage and reconnaissance groups of the enemy and their probable accomplices. During this period, caches of weapons, ammunition, communication means, and other equipment were discovered, and filtration measures were carried out to identify collaborators. In July 2022, coordinating the actions of assault groups during the offensive on the temporarily occupied territory of Lozove in the Beryslav district of the Kherson region, thanks to the professional actions and correct decisions of Olexandr Hostyshev, it was possible to hold the settlement until the arrival of auxiliary forces. This allowed the Armed Forces of Ukraine to advance unhindered in the Kherson direction. From September to November 2022, the consolidated battalion of the National Police of Ukraine "Tsunami," under the command of police lieutenant colonel Olexandr Hostyshev, carried out assault operations in the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions, as well as counter-sabotage, search, and operational-preventive measures in the territory of 10 settlements: Lozove, Bilohirka, Blahodativka, Ishchenka, Kalynivske, Bobrove Kut, Yevhenivka, Vasylivka, Pavlivka, and Ivano-Kepino. Olexandr Hostyshev took direct part in the liberation of Davydiv Brid in the Beryslav district of the Kherson region and the city of Kherson, for which he was awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky III class. In February 2023, police lieutenant colonel was appointed head of the department - commander of the assault regiment "Tsunami" of the National Police of Ukraine "Lut." Under the leadership of Olexandr Hostyshev, over 50 combat special operations were conducted to liberate Klishchiivka in the Bakhmut district of the Donetsk region. As a result of successful assault actions, 274 servicemen of the Russian Federation were eliminated, 624 were injured, and 25 were captured. Additionally, 24 units of enemy combat and special equipment were destroyed, and 7 ammunition depots were hit. On July 23, 2023, under Olexandr's leadership, a special operation lasting over 15 hours was conducted. The police battalion No. 1 of the "Tsunami" regiment stormed enemy positions and conducted successful attacks. The occupiers suffered significant losses, despite putting up strong resistance and deploying reserves. The assault group of the unit eliminated enemy personnel and armored vehicles, specifically an infantry fighting vehicle. During the assault actions on the southern outskirts of Klishchiivka, together with the 80th separate airborne assault brigade under Olexandr Hostyshev, the police battalion-tactical group No. 2 advanced northward and secured the positions reached, later handing them over to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In August 2023, Olexandr Hostyshev led assault actions in the Klishchiivka area, resulting in assault groups penetrating deeper into enemy defenses and breaching one fortified line. He personally planned an ambush that resulted in the destruction of an enemy armored personnel carrier along with an elite airborne unit. In September 2023, during assault actions in the Kurdiumivka area of the Bakhmut district of the Donetsk region, over 300 meters of enemy positions were returned under the control of Ukrainian defense forces. In December 2023, during an operation in the Maiorsk area of the Horlivka district of the Donetsk region, two servicemen of the Russian Federation were captured, and two enemy positions were cleared. In January 2024, Olexandr Hostyshev, along with his unit, returned to the permanent deployment point in Odesa. On March 15, 2024, Russian troops launched a missile strike on the private sector of Odesa. Being near the epicenter of the events, Olexandr, without hesitation, was the first to assist the victims and began to clear the debris of the destroyed building. However, during a second treacherous missile strike by the Russians, he sustained injuries incompatible with life. He died a hero, saving people. For personal courage and selfless actions demonstrated in the defense of the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, loyalty to military oath, Olexandr Hostyshev was posthumously awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky II class. On March 20, 2024, a park named after Olexandr Hostyshev was established on Heroiv Avenue in Dnipro.