Oleksandr Vasyliovich Kukurba (), 18 September 1994 – 26 July 2022)
was a Ukrainian military officer,

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

of the Air Force of the

Armed Forces of Ukraine , imports = , exports = , history = , ranks = Military ranks of Ukraine , country=Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Збро́йні си́ли Украї́ни), most commonly known ...

, a participant in the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatist forces in Donbas, Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since Feb ...

Hero of Ukraine Hero of Ukraine (HOU; uk, Герой України, ''Heroi Ukrainy'') is the highest national title that can be conferred upon an individual citizen by the President of Ukraine. The title was created in 1998 by President Leonid Kuchma and as ...

(2022), recipient of the

Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky The Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky ( uk, Орден Богдана Хмельницького, Orden Bohdana Khmelʹnytsʹkoho) is a Ukrainian military award named after Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Hetman of the Ukrainian Cossacks. The award was establi ...

II and III class.

Biography

Oleksandr Kukurba was born in 1994 in the village of Verkhnii Verbizh in

Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast ( uk, Іва́но-Франкі́вська о́бласть, translit=Ivano-Frankivska oblast), also referred to as Ivano-Frankivshchyna ( uk, Іва́но-Франкі́вщина), is an administrative divisions of Ukrain ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. Kukurba studied at the Nizhniy Verbizh comprehensive school (p. Nizhniy Verbizh, Kolomyysky district, Ivano-Frankivsk region). He completed his military service as the head of intelligence at the headquarters of the 299th tactical aviation brigade of the

. During the repulse of the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, he flew 100 sorties, destroyed more than 20 tanks and about 50 combat units of armored vehicles and other means, as well as more than 300 enemy personnel.За 50 днів цієї війни Україна стала героєм для всього вільного світу — звернення Президента Володимира Зеленського
// Офіс Президента України. — 2022. — 14 квітня. He died in battle for Ukraine on 26 July 2022. The Nizhniy Verbizh community declared 27–29 July to be days of mourning. Kukurba was buried in his native village on 29 July 2022.Загинув під час 100 бойового вильоту. На Прикарпатті поховали Героя України Олександра Кукурбу
/ref> Two days of mourning for him where held in his place of birth.

Awards and honours

* the title

with the awarding of the «Golden Star» order (14 April 2022) — ''for personal courage and heroism, shown in the defense of state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine''. * Order of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi II class (6 July 2022) — ''for personal courage and selfless actions shown in the defense of state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, loyalty to the military oath''. * Order of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi III class (22 March 2022) — ''for personal courage and selfless actions shown in the defense of the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, loyalty to the military oath''. In November 2022 the Cosmonaut Komarov street in

Dnipro Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Rive ...

(located in the Sobornyi District) was renamed Oleksandr Kukurba Street as part of the derussification drive following the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kukurba, Oleksandr 1994 births 2022 deaths Ukrainian Air Force officers People from Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Ukrainian military personnel killed in the Russo-Ukrainian War Ukrainian military personnel killed in the Russian invasion of Ukraine Recipients of the Order of Gold Star (Ukraine) Recipients of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 3rd class