Thirty-seven-year-old Soldier Oleh Sanzharevskyi, call sign "Poliak," died at a military hospital in Kyiv on May 26, 2024. On May 17, while carrying out a combat mission in the Ocheretyne community, he came under attack by an enemy FPV drone. The drone struck his vehicle, leaving Oleh with severe multiple injuries across his body. Doctors fought for his life until the very end.
Oleh was born in Tyumen, Russia. When he was four years old, his family moved to Pokrovsk, Donetsk Region, where they lived ever since. He trained as an electric and gas welder at the Donetsk Vocational Technical College, but his true calling was emergency response. He rose through the ranks from firefighter to commander of a unit in the Main Directorate of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Donetsk Region, where he earned the respect of his colleagues for his fairness.
In August 2021, he left the State Emergency Service and went to Poland for work. When Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, Oleh returned to Ukraine without hesitation. To reach his hometown, he walked on foot from Dnipro. As soon as he arrived home, he immediately reported to the Territorial Center of Recruitment and Social Support and joined the defense of his country.
He served in the 109th Separate Territorial Defense Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as a crane operator.
"Oleh was a kind and compassionate person, a loving husband and father. He was always ready to help and could never refuse anyone in need. As his commander once said, 'There is no one else like him in my unit.' Oleh was my strength and support, and for our son he was an example of what a real man should be. To us, Oleh is a hero who did not hesitate to stand up in defense of his country," his wife said.
The defender was laid to rest in his hometown of Pokrovsk.
Oleh is survived by his wife, Alina, and his son, Artem, who was seven years old when his father passed away.
At 9:00 a.m., observe the nationwide minute of silence. The Donetsk Regional Military Administration and the Memorial Platform honor the memory of the fallen defenders from Donetsk Region.