Serhii O. Alfimov

Sergiy Oleksandrovych Alfimov was born on July 14, 1973, in the territory of Russia. He dedicated 25 years of service to Ukraine, including 7 years with the National Guard. Since 2014, he repeatedly carried out combat missions in the area of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) and Joint Forces Operation (JFO). Even after retiring, he remained active and full of life, engaged in sports, and supported his fellow soldiers. He contributed to making the military community more open and integrated into society. “I first went to war as a gunner-operator of an armored personnel carrier (APC) 4-E. Then colleagues from a special forces unit approached me with an offer to join them, as I had the experience and qualifications of a sapper, which were critically needed for setting up positions, demining, engineering reconnaissance, and so on. I held the position of officer-sapper and since May 2014, I had regular rotations to the ATO and JFO areas, frequently exchanging my experiences with foreign partners. We need to communicate more and share our knowledge with civilians; only then will we build truly trusting relationships with society. All that is needed for this is a minimal material base and an interested audience,” Sergiy Alfimov insisted. The memory of Sergiy Alfimov will forever remain in the hearts of his comrades and all who knew him. “I personally knew Sergiy Alfimov. He was always reliable. I started my service with him in military unit 3005. I was in the ATO with him more than once,” shared special forces operative Tuman. “I served with Sergiy from 2018. He always lived and acted like a true special forces operative—professionally. He was very demanding of himself, persistent, and proactive. He was not afraid of new challenges. At the same time, he remained kind and cheerful—a source of positivity. Of course, he could be dissatisfied with something, but no one ever heard complaints from him. In our team, we called him Grandpa, as he dedicated a quarter of a century to service. We will always remember his smile. He knew his job, his duty. This is a significant loss for us,” shared special forces operative Salyut. “I remember Sergiy Alfimov as a good, cheerful person. We trained together, went to competitions, and carried out various tasks starting from 2014. He always devoted himself entirely to his work. He was a master of his craft. It is very sad that we are losing such bright individuals,” shared memories special forces operative Skala. With the onset of the full-scale invasion of Russian occupation forces into Ukraine, Master Sergeant Sergiy Alfimov joined the separate reconnaissance and sabotage unit "Kraken" of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. On September 6, 2022, Sergiy was called up for mobilization to the separate special forces unit of the National Guard of Ukraine and returned to his unit. On September 10, 2022, the combined group of the separate special forces unit, in which Sergiy Alfimov was carrying out a combat mission, was tasked with liberating the village of Udi in the Kharkiv region and pushing the enemy back to the state border of Ukraine. On the morning of September 11, 2022, special forces operatives entered the settlement in small groups from the southwest direction and began stabilization actions, inspecting every yard and house. Moving at the head of one of the groups, Sergiy Alfimov spotted a camouflaged armored personnel carrier equipped with an automatic grenade launcher ahead. The enemy, noticing the advance of the guards on the street, attempted to open fire. Acting preemptively, Sergiy Alfimov threw a grenade at the armored vehicle, hitting the enemy personnel. Identifying two more armed occupiers nearby, he eliminated them. As the most experienced specialist-sapper in the group, he led the way, conducted reconnaissance, and detected mine traps. Already on the outskirts of the village, Sergiy discovered an anti-personnel fragmentation mine (MON-50). During the demining process, Master Sergeant reported that it was too easy, and at that moment, he saw that the deactivated mine was connected to a fragmentation barrier mine (OZM-72). Realizing the inevitability of the trap's explosion, he fell onto the mine and covered it with his body. Due to the powerful explosion, Master Sergeant Sergiy Alfimov died on the spot, saving his comrades who were moving behind him at the cost of his life.