Yevhen V. Olefirenko (Elvis)

Olefirenko Yevhen Valeriiovych was born on September 27, 1988 in Kyiv. A graduate-historian from the National University of "Kyiv-Mohyla Academy" and Uppsala University in Sweden. In 2014, after the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war, he purposefully prepared to defend Ukraine. He studied at the National University of Defense of Ukraine named after Ivan Cherniakhovskyi. On February 24, 2022, he was mobilized to the 206th battalion of the 241st separate brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces, then he was transferred to the 1st Separate Special Operations Brigade. During this time, he fought near Mykolaiv, was a grenade launcher and mortar operator, trained foreign volunteers who defend Ukraine, and commanded a platoon of the 1st International Company of the 517th battalion of the 1st Separate Special Operations Brigade named after Ivan Bohun. He defended Lysychansk in Luhansk region, and was able to withdraw his unit from the semi-encircled city unharmed. He was killed on July 7, 2022 in battles with Russian invaders near Bakhmut in Donetsk region. He was buried on July 10, 2022 at the Baikove Cemetery in Kyiv. He is survived by his wife and daughter.