Serhiy Kokurin Explained

See main article: Simferopol Incident.

Serhiy Kokurin
Birth Date:1 January 1978
Birth Place:Simferopol, Crimean Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Death Place:Simferopol, Ukraine
Allegiance: Ukraine
Branch: Ukrainian Army
Serviceyears:1997–2014
Rank:Praporshchik
Battles:
Awards:Order For Courage 3rd grade (posthumously)
Children:2

Serhiy Viktorovych Kokurin (Ukrainian: Сергій Вікторович Кокурін; Russian: Сергей Викторович Кокурин; 1 January 1978 – 18 March 2014) was a Ukrainian soldier who was shot dead during an assault on a Ukrainian military base in Simferopol. He was the first soldier killed during the Russo-Ukrainian War.

Biography

See also: 2014 Simferopol incident. Serhiy Kokurin was born on 1 January 1978 in Simferopol, Crimean Oblast (Ukrainian SSR, USSR). On 28 December 1997 he pledged his allegiance to the Ukrainian people. During his military service Kokurin went from private to warrant officer and was the chief of his unit's logistics service.

On 18 March, Kokurin was killed on watch duty during the Russian assault on the 13th Photogrammetric Center of the Central Military Topographic and Navigation Main Directorate of Operations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Russian press started to distribute fake that Kokurin was killed by a sniper. Ukrainian witnesses disprove this version: attackers broke into Ukrainian military establishment, opened chaotic fire with automatic weapons, and fired at the observation tower. Death report says "Kokurin was killed by two 5.45 mm bullets fired from the bottom up", proving that one of the fighters from Girkin's unit killed Kokurin.[1] [2]

Kokurin was survived by his wife, son, and unborn child, all of whom relocated to Odesa.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2018-05-02 . Первая смерть при аннексии Крыма . 2023-07-13 . Крым.Реалии . ru.
  2. News: Шароградский . Андрей . 2020-03-18 . Погибшие и пропавшие. Жертвы "бескровной" аннексии Крыма . ru . Радио Свобода . 2023-07-13.
  3. Web site: Ministry of Defence of Ukraine. Під час штурму 13-го фотограмметричного центру Головного управління оперативного забезпечення Збройних Сил України у Сімферополі загинув на посту прапорщик Сергій Вікторович Кокурін . Ensign Serhiy Viktorovych Kokurin died at his post during the storm of the 13th Photogrammetric Center of the Main Administration Operational Support to the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Simferopol . https://web.archive.org/web/20140320203419/http://www.mil.gov.ua/index.php?lang=ua&part=news&sub=read&id=33142 . 20 March 2014 . 20 March 2014. 20 March 2014. uk.