Oleksii V. Hladii

Paratrooper Oleksii Hladii was killed on February 25, 2023, while carrying out a combat mission in the area of the settlement of Bilohirivka in the Luhansk region. The defender suffered a fatal explosive injury. He was 21 years old. Oleksii was born in the village of Velyka Bilozerka, Zaporizhzhia region. After finishing school, he obtained the profession of a miner at a vocational school. He served his mandatory military service. Then he worked at a mine. He had many plans and dreams. He loved to spend his free time with friends and his beloved. Before the full-scale invasion, the young man decided to join the contract service in the airborne assault troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He held the position of a grenadier in the 81st separate airmobile brigade. From the first days of the invasion, he took part in the defense of the Sumy region, then went to the Zaporizhzhia region. There he was wounded, and after rehabilitation, he returned to the front line. "He was a true hero, never afraid of anything, always went only forward! After the first wound, Oleksii returned to service again. He was purposeful and brave. A man with a capital letter. Until the last, he fought for a free Ukraine and never showed his fear," said the deceased's beloved Yana Lebid. The warrior was buried in the Alley of Heroes of the Kushuhum cemetery in Zaporizhzhia. Oleksii is survived by his parents, sisters, girlfriend, relatives, friends, and comrades-in-arms. Posthumously, soldier Oleksii Hladii was awarded the Order of Courage of the III degree.