Serhii M. Kalyna (Khasan)

Serhiy Mykhailovych Kalyna was born on February 11, 1982, in Lviv. He studied at specialized school No. 3 in the city of Sambir, Lviv region. In 2005, he graduated from Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, obtaining a full higher education in the specialty of "History and Geography Teacher." At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Serhiy Kalyna was in the capital, where he decided to enlist in the military service of the National Guard of Ukraine. Since March 2022, Serhiy actively participated in combat missions, defending Kyiv and the Kyiv region, and after the front moved, he went to Eastern Ukraine. From November 2022, he carried out combat missions to liberate temporarily occupied territories in Luhansk region near the settlements of Zarichne and Yampil. On January 3, 2023, during a combat mission in the area of the city of Kreminna, Luhansk region, he, along with a group, discovered an enemy sabotage and reconnaissance group. Risking his own life, senior soldier Serhiy Kalyna entered into a fierce battle, during which he personally eliminated three occupiers. Thanks to his professional actions and bravery, the enemy sabotage and reconnaissance group was neutralized. When Serhiy was returning to his group's positions, the vehicle he was in came under artillery fire. As a result of a direct hit on the vehicle, Serhiy Kalyna sustained injuries incompatible with life. His comrades spoke of him as follows: "Maxim Chumak (Dar) and Kalyna (Khasan) — two friends, two brothers-in-arms, an officer and a soldier who carried out combat missions in the Kreminets forest under extremely difficult conditions for a long time. We were fortunate to be with you during the last 3 weeks of your bright heroic life and to cover more than a hundred kilometers in the forest along the front line. You knew and taught everything: how to accomplish the mission and survive. Unfortunately, war takes the best. Thank you for everything you did for your brothers-in-arms, who respected you greatly and never doubted that in any shooting or the strongest artillery shelling, despite any enemy sabotage groups, you would still reach them. Despite the greatest danger, you radiated light, you shone like the sun, and after communicating with you, the mood lifted. And we often marveled at how you managed to reach the front line again. And so every day, and always… Soldiers at the front line always grew confidently resilient in military work because you carried the unbreakable spirit and will to accomplish the combat mission… Such a level of trust and respect as for you had not been seen before in the war; you were incredible and became legends of the front forest near Kreminna even during your lifetime… Thank you for everything you did for Ukraine. We thank fate for having the honor to stand shoulder to shoulder with true Ukrainian Knights." For personal courage and selflessness displayed in the defense of the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and for diligent and impeccable service to the Ukrainian people, senior soldier Serhiy Mykhailovych Kalyna was awarded the Order of Courage III class (posthumously).