Serhii O. Kryvulia (Kardan)

33-year-old Sergeant Serhii Krivulia (call sign Cardan) was killed in action on June 13, 2022, defending the city of Sievierodonetsk in Luhansk Oblast from the occupiers. During the performance of a combat mission, he received a fatal wound from a bullet of an enemy sniper. Serhii was from Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast. He lived with his family in Kyiv. In 2014-2020, he served in the ranks of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. He participated in ATO/OOS. In peacetime, he worked as an engineer for the installation of medical equipment. He loved motorcycles and traveling. With the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, the man was one of the first to stand up to defend his native country. He served in the volunteer formation "Freedom". For his heroic liberation of Irpin, Bucha and Hostomel in Kyiv Oblast, he was awarded the honorary breastplate of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine "For Merit to the Armed Forces of Ukraine". Then, as part of the "Freedom" battalion of the 4th operational brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, he defended Luhansk Oblast, in particular the cities of Rubizhne and Sievierodonetsk. He was the commander of the department. "Serhii loved his son to the point of madness and treated me with tenderness. He had golden hands, always came to the rescue at the first request... Serhii's department was always ready to carry out his order without hesitation, because he proved himself to be a balanced and fair leader, respected and supported every soldier," his wife Nadia said. "He was a real man and a knight. He never allowed himself to show superiority. He always told, explained and helped his soldiers, went on duty with everyone. He was our mentor, friend and commander at the same time. It seemed that any equipment and weapons in his hands came to life. Responded to the touch of his hands and began to work. He first encountered the occupiers in 2014 in Luhansk Oblast. He fought as part of the outpost, in total he served 9 years in the ranks of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. He knew almost the entire border of Ukraine. He told with enthusiasm that his comrades from the border guards underwent special training and became a real deadly inevitability for the occupiers. I once asked why he left. He replied: "Because priorities have changed a bit, married, had a child..." But fate had its own plans, and it turned out that he gave up his military affairs for a short time, and the war took away the husband from his wife and the father from the child," his comrade Oleksandr Burmagin wrote. Serhii was buried at the Berkovetske cemetery in Kyiv. At home, his wife, son, other relatives and friends were waiting for him. Posthumously, the warrior was awarded the Order "For Courage" of the III degree.