Oleksii O. Ripinskyi (Rip)

23-year-old Sergeant Oleksii Ripinsky (call sign Rip) was killed on April 9, 2022, while demining territories liberated from the occupiers near the village of Velyka Dymerka in Kyiv Oblast. Together with a comrade, they triggered an enemy mine — under one mine, two more were hidden. Oleksii was born in Kyiv. He studied at the Kyiv College of Communications, specializing in "Telecommunications and Radio Communications." In 2018, he worked as a sapper in the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Kyiv. He served his conscription in the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, where he received the joking call sign Moskal because he spoke Russian. After his conscription, he joined the National Police. At the beginning of 2022, he decided to return to the State Emergency Service because he dreamed of being a firefighter. But the war began. In his free time, he engaged in sports, particularly boxing. He wrote poems and songs. On the first day of the full-scale war, Oleksii went to the military enlistment office, telling his family: "When murderers stand at my doorstep, I must stand between them and the door." Thus, he joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served in the 54th Separate Rifle Battalion (military unit A4017), holding the position of commander of the engineering-sapper platoon. "Oleksii was a very bright guy. Our whole family misses him very much. He loved our little friends, always carried food with him, and if he saw dogs or cats, he always fed them. He wanted to buy a big house so that we could all live there, and in the morning and evening, we would gather together at a large table for breakfast and dinner. He did a lot for his platoon and for all of Ukraine. This is a great loss for our family. Our defender, Hero of Ukraine," said the sister of the fallen soldier, Viktoriia. Oleksii was buried at the Alley of Heroes in the Lisove Cemetery in Kyiv. At home, his mother and four sisters were waiting for him.