Vladyslav Yu. Allerov (Foks)

Vladislav Yuriyovych Allerov was born on January 2, 1985, in Lviv, in a military family. He studied at Gymnasium No. 1 in Simferopol. He graduated from the National Academy of the National Guard of Ukraine. Since 2006, he progressed from lieutenant to colonel. Vladislav Allerov served in hot spots since 2014. He was one of the first participants in the Anti-Terrorist Operation during the assault on the city of Sloviansk in the Donetsk region. That year, his father, Colonel General Yuriy Allerov, was one of the commanders of the Ukrainian Defense Forces and later became the commander of the National Guard of Ukraine. Colonel Vladislav Allerov was constantly involved in the planning and execution of combat operations from the beginning of the undeclared war in Donbas. Despite the fact that a military leader of such rank primarily engages in managerial activities, Vladislav Yuriyovych did not have the habit of staying in headquarters. He led his subordinates and never assigned tasks that were more complex than those he could perform himself. "I remember Colonel Allerov from our cadet years. I studied at the command faculty, he at the logistics faculty, but they were located on the same floor, so we, of course, were acquainted. I remembered Vlad as a guy who adored sports. He was not a professional athlete, did not participate in the institute's national teams, but spent all his free time in the gym or on the stadium. Of course, this could not help but evoke respect, but at that time I did not know that Vlad wanted to serve in the special forces and was toughening his body and spirit to realize his dream," recalls one of the officers of the Main Directorate of the National Guard, who knew Colonel Allerov closely. Colonel Allerov truly cared for his people and looked after them. He ensured that they had the best weapons, equipment, and gear. When in 2014 the nature of service tasks changed sharply, and needs arose that the state could not meet in a short time, he established cooperation with volunteers both in Lviv and throughout Ukraine. He negotiated, procured, and cared for each soldier. "If it were not for this war, he would have been a good commander. Not just of the special operations unit, but of a regiment, brigade, and even at a higher level. Vladislav Yuriyovych had all the qualities for this. With his death, the National Guard lost a lot," assert all who knew him. Engaging in military affairs was as natural for Vladislav Allerov as breathing. He had been accustomed to military training since childhood. Colonel General Yuriy Allerov recounts that even as a young boy, his son was knowledgeable about soldier life and all types of weapons and equipment. In the late 1980s, the family lived in the Georgian town of Akhalkalaki. With the rise of national liberation movements and the intensification of ethnic conflicts, life in the town became dangerous, and the wives and children of officers left the garrison. However, both the father and mother in the Allerov family served, and they had no opportunity to personally take 5-year-old Vladislav to Ukraine to his relatives. "When illegal armed groups began attempting to seize military depots, I put my son on an armored personnel carrier, and he traveled to Khashuri in a military convoy via Borjomi, and from there by bus to Tbilisi, where my father met him and brought him to Lviv. There, Vladislav entered the first grade, and when in 1992 I returned to Ukraine and received a posting to a military unit stationed in Rava-Ruska, he continued his education there. Overall, my son studied in five schools. He received his diploma from the Ukrainian school-gymnasium in Simferopol, after which he enrolled in the Military Institute of the Interior Ministry of Ukraine." He chose the specialty "Management" with an eye on the future. The idea was that if the boy did not want to tie his entire life to the military, he would not go wrong with an economic education in civilian life. However, he did not just aspire to wear epaulettes; he dreamed of mountain special forces and gradually approached his goal. During his last cadet internship, Vladislav spent half the term in logistical positions. He requested to intern in the legendary "Lavanda" and after that was finally convinced of his calling. Yuriy Volodymyrovych Allerov recalls: "To be honest, I was not initially thrilled with my son's decision; I associated it with youthful maximalism and a fascination with mountain romance. I also found it hard to imagine a young officer with a logistics diploma in a combat position. I set a condition that Vlad would improve his knowledge and skills in three main military subjects: tactics, firearms training, and armored vehicle operation, to the level of an excellent student of the command faculty. The relevant department instructors agreed to work with him on an elective basis at my request; the rest depended on him. Before graduation, my son successfully defended his thesis in his main specialty and demonstrated what he had achieved in his dream profession." Colonel General Allerov admits that he only intervened for his son twice in his life. The first time was in 2006 when he asked the military command to assign Vladislav, as an exception, to continue his service not according to his institute specialty "Logistical Support of Military Units," but to the position of commander of a combat group of a separate special operations unit. The second time was in 2015. After taking the position of commander of the National Guard, Yuriy Volodymyrovych appealed to the President of Ukraine for his son to continue serving in his special unit. A specialist of such level would be desirable in any agency, but the special operations unit led by Colonel Allerov was, without exaggeration, his brainchild, and in the midst of combat operations, he wanted to remain there and be with his men. Vladislav Yuriyovych had been accustomed to responsibility since youth. He was used to the fact that when you bear a well-known surname in the military, you are treated more scrutinously, and sometimes deliberately tested for strength. Since his lieutenant days in the Crimean special unit, he was jokingly nicknamed "namesake." When the inspector, during a drill inspection, heard the familiar surname and asked the young man how he was related to Colonel Allerov, he replied that they were just namesakes. His father was not offended; he understood everything. Yet Vladislav was a proud young man. He always had his opinion and worked hard to prove to himself and others what he was worth, not as the son of General Allerov, but as an officer and a specialist in his field. Yuriy Volodymyrovych recalls that when they fought side by side near Donetsk, he, of course, was not afraid for himself. But he was very worried for his son. How many times Vladislav went on such missions when no one could say whether he would return alive or not! As a father, he wishes no one to experience the feelings of that dreadful anticipation. "In June 2014, battles were ongoing for Yasynuvata. As the head of the Western Territorial Administration, I led the operational reserve, which included fighters from the Kalyniv's "Jaguar" and our special operations unit — Vladislav was then the deputy commander of this unit. One day, the personnel were preparing for a combat sortie. I walked by and saw the guys getting ready upon seeing the command. My call sign was Carpathians, and I was used to such, you know, 'Carpathian' whispers. Then I heard: 'Old Fox is coming!' And Fox is my son's call sign... That's when the time came when Vlad was perceived as my son, and I was seen as his father," notes Colonel General Allerov. Since 2014, Colonel Vladislav Allerov, like all special operations forces, spent more time on combat missions than at his permanent station. In 2016, Vladislav Allerov was awarded the Order of Courage of the III degree. Sometimes he had to perform complex and dangerous tasks continuously for many months. Thus, his last pre-war mission began in August 2021. It was supposed to last three months, but due to complications in the operational situation, it was extended to five. Only in January did the special forces return to Lviv, and on February 25, the unit was urgently redeployed to Zhytomyr to repel the Russian advance in the north of the country. A few days later, Colonel Allerov and his subordinates were liberating Makariv in the Kyiv region, expelling the Russian forces from Chernihiv, and later from Sumy. The next area of combat operations became Kharkiv. Here, the Lviv special forces fought alongside their compatriots from the 80th Separate Air Assault Brigade. Colonel Vladislav Allerov was responsible for conducting a number of successful operations. Under his command, dozens of units of military equipment, command posts, and a significant number of enemy personnel were destroyed. The struggle was for every city, every village, every meter of our land. On May 30, in the area of the city of Izium in the Kharkiv region, a group of special forces under the command of Colonel Allerov was tasked with advancing to positions that had belonged to Ukrainians just a few days earlier but had been pushed out by the enemy. Now the guards needed to encircle and clear the positions to return them to their rightful owners. The Russians called for artillery support, and during the shelling, one of the soldiers was wounded in both legs. Colonel Allerov applied tourniquets to the soldier, handed him over to the evacuation group, and continued the fight. Vladislav, under enemy artillery and mortar fire, ensured the group's withdrawal. Unfortunately, he himself sustained injuries incompatible with life. The 37-year-old officer was laid to rest on June 1 at Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv. By the decree of the President of Ukraine dated December 27, 2022, No. 892/2022, Colonel Vladislav Allerov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine. "Until the last moment, I hoped that we would liberate Crimea together, which is connected to our family in many ways. It is not just a place of service for my son and me. My grandparents are buried in Simferopol, my grandfather fought, was a partisan, and was an honorary citizen of the city of Feodosia. The other grandfather was the head of the veterans' council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea... And Vladislav's eldest son, Mykyta, was born there. So Crimea is our Crimea. We will return and liberate it. And if not my son, then my grandson will step onto this land," Yuriy Volodymyrovych is confident.