Oleksii Yu. Solodaniuk (Ptakha)

Lieutenant Oleksiy Solodanyuk (call sign Ptakha) was killed on August 23, 2023, while carrying out a combat mission near the village of Robotyne in the Zaporizhzhia region. To avoid risking the lives of his comrades, he volunteered to go out and meet the reinforcement group that was disoriented in the area. On the way, he was spotted by an enemy drone. Trying to get out of the enemy's line of sight to avoid revealing the route and hiding place of his comrades, the officer encountered an enemy mine, and the explosion immediately killed him. On September 5, the defender would have turned 27 years old. Oleksiy was born in the village of Vyshnyvka, Vinnytsia region. In childhood, he moved with his family to the village of Sklymyntsi in the Cherkasy region, where he finished school. Then he moved to the capital. He obtained a higher education at the National Technical University of Ukraine "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute" in the specialty of "Engineering Mechanics". During his student years, he was a participant in the Revolution of Dignity. He mastered the profession of a website developer and wrote his diploma work. He was interested in history and looked for information about his great-grandfathers who participated in World War II. He was engaged in sports on the bars. He was passionate about military affairs and weapons. His last job was at the "Standard-PAK Center" company, where he held the position of a repair mechanic. With the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the man went to the military enlistment office. He told his parents: "Dad, who if not me? I won't wait for them in the village. This is not a nation that can be let go and trusted. Under this nation, there is no development in Ukraine, no future. The future of Ukraine is European." Later, he was mobilized into the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served in the ranks of the 65th Separate Mechanized Brigade. He held the position of deputy commander of the company for armaments. Since the beginning of July 2023, he has been performing the duties of the company commander. During his service, Oleksiy was awarded the medals "For Merit" and "War Veteran", as well as certificates, in particular "For conscientious performance of combat missions, personal courage and selfless actions shown in the defense of Ukrainian sovereignty." "Oleksiy was very kind and cheerful, he always joked. His relatives and friends have many memories of him that bring a smile to their faces. He went to the military enlistment office voluntarily on February 24, 2022. He left his data and waited. He made the decision to defend our Motherland even before the beginning of the full-scale invasion, otherwise he could not. He always said that everything would be fine, supported and protected his family," said the officer's wife, Kateryna. The warrior was buried in the village of Sklymyntsi in the Cherkasy region. Oleksiy is survived by his parents, brother, wife, daughter born in 2023, and other relatives and friends.