Oleksii P. Ivanov (Karatel)

Junior Sergeant Oleksiy Ivanov (call sign Punisher) was killed on July 27, 2022, while carrying out a combat mission near the town of Soledar in Donetsk Oblast. The warrior was 31 years old. Oleksiy was born in the village of Nyanchyne in Luhansk Oblast. He graduated from Luhansk Pedagogical University. Later, he settled in Kyiv Oblast. He worked in the children's park "Kidlandia." He loved hiking in the mountains, engaged in sports, and enjoyed military-themed literature. He was interested in the history of Ukraine and dreamed of opening a knife-making workshop. From the first days of the full-scale war, Oleksiy defended Ukraine from Russian occupiers. He joined the ranks of the 137th separate battalion of territorial defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He held the position of a squad commander and went to the front line with his comrades. He was the best brother. He was 9 years younger than me; I cared for him, and we were very similar in character. He was a person with a capital letter; he was a patriot of our Ukraine, spoke Ukrainian. Fair, kind, strong in spirit, a man of his word, reliable, cheerful. He loved children very much. When his son was born, he was on cloud nine with happiness. He always treated his parents with respect," said the warrior's sister Natalia. The warrior was buried in the village of Mala Karatul in Kyiv Oblast. Oleksiy is survived by his parents, Petro and Tetiana, sisters Iryna, Natalia, Aliona, wife Yuliia, and son Lev, who was born in 2020. Posthumously, Junior Sergeant Oleksiy Ivanov was awarded the Order of Courage III degree.