During the fierce fighting at «Azovstal», the life of a 24-year-old athlete from Cherkasy, Oleksandr Derevianko, was cut short.
He was born on November 23 1997 in Cherkasy region. At school, he started playing football. While studying at сollege, he joined the fan movement of the «Dnipro» football club. Later, Oleksandr became interested in martial arts – MMA, boxing and sambo. The results were not long in coming. He began to win prizes at various competitions, surprising not only himself but also his coaches. After graduation, he was invited to work at the «Azovets» children’s camp in Kyiv. Despite moving to the capital, he often visited his native Cherkasy, where he studied at the Cherkasy branch of the «European University».
In September 2020, Oleksandr became a soldier of the “Azov” regiment, having previously passed a difficult selection, where he received the call sign “Adams”. At the same time, he did not forget to improve in martial arts, participated in combat competitions among the Azov people, often being on the podium.
Oleksandr met the beginning of the full-scale invasion in Mariupol, where he had been living for two years. Since March 2022, there has been almost no communication with the occupied city. His mother recalls that she talked to her son for no more than 30 seconds a day. Oleksandr always asked if Kyiv had survived. The positive answer gave our soldiers strength every time.
During a combat operation on April 3, 2022, he and his comrades left the territory of the famous «Azovstal» plant. They reached their position, but the enemy had already surrounded them. Realizing this, the crew made a strong-willed decision to send the armored vehicle toward the enemy. By diverting the attention of the occupiers, they opened the way for their comrades to escape from the encirclement, but they themselves came under enemy fire. Saving his friends, Oleksandr Derevianko heroically died that day. The body of the brave Soldier was taken to «Azovstal». Many of the soldiers who were evacuated from the besieged city by helicopters or managed to return from captivity are alive today thanks to their friend «Adams».