Junior Sergeant Oleksii Telefus, callsign Alex, was born on September 15, 1994, in the settlement of Ocheretyne. He later lived in Kyiv, where he worked as a taxi driver. In his spare time, he enjoyed fishing and walking around the city.
During the full-scale war, Oleksii stood up to defend Ukraine. He served in the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade as an aerial reconnaissance UAV crew commander in the 2nd Mechanized Battalion.
The defender fell on January 20, 2026, in the village of Novoserhiivka, Izium district, Kharkiv region, as a result of a direct hit by an enemy FPV drone. He was forever 31 years old.
"He was the most loving husband. Caring, gentle. We dreamed of having a child and our own home," wrote his wife Hanna.
Oleksii Telefus was buried on the Alley of Glory at the Lisove Cemetery in Kyiv.
He is survived by his wife and grandmother.
At 9:00 AM — the national minute of silence. The Donetsk Regional Military Administration and the Heroes' Memorial platform honor the fallen defenders from Donetsk Oblast.