Leonid Ozeranchuk was born on December 1, 1991, in the village of Tomashhorod, Rokytne Raion, Rivne Oblast. In 2009, he finished the local Educational Complex “Comprehensive School-Lyceum”. In the same 2009, Ozeranchuk family moved to the village of Osnytsk for the permanent place of residence. Leonid entered Sarny Vocational School №22 which he finished in 2011 obtaining the qualification of an automobile mechanic. From 2012 to 2013, Leonid served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. Having returned from service, Leonid worked on a saw machine in Tomashhorod Forest Division of the Governmental Establishment Klesiv Forestry Enterprise.
Leonid died on May 22, 2014, during an armed attack on a checkpoint in the area of Velyko-Anadol Railway Station in Donetsk Oblast.
The deceased soldier left parents, two sisters and a fiancee.
According to the Presidential Executive Order №311/2015 on June 4, 2015, Leonid was posthumously decorated with the Medal for Defender of the Motherland “for personal courage and high professionalism demonstrated in the protection of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, loyalty to the military oath”.
Our common grief
For residents of Volnovaskyi raion in Donetska oblast a spring day on May 22 began with terrible news. In 10 kilometers from the Volnovakha city near the Olhinka village happened a bloody tragedy. It was the peaceful district where administrative agencies, banks, polling stations have been never seized. For or a long time there were yellow and blue flags, billboards with the inscription “United Ukraine” and people who lived there trust the local authorities. But there were killed young guys. They died not in battle, not attacking anyone but during the protection of civilians at checkpoints. They were the soldiers of the 51st mechanized brigade of the 13th army corps of the Armed Forces of Ukraine which was stationed in Volodymyr-Volynskyi city, Volynska oblast.
At dawn on the military unit was opened a fire from small arms, hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers and mortars. The militants came by cars and brutally murdered the soldiers. During the fire one of the charges got into a fighting machine which was at the checkpoint and that caused an explosion of ammunition. When it was over, the frightened residents of the surrounding villages were afraid to leave their homes. There were some brave men who came on scooters and cars to the battlefield and began to rescue the wounded. Meanwhile, an ambulance that rushed from Volnovakha and local residents with their own transport began to deliver the injured to a hospital.
Volnovakha Central district hospital took 28 injured at once and 6 others were taken to the Central hospital of Volnovakha station. It was a real struggle for life and many of lives were on the line. Head and internal organs injuries, arms and legs injuries, blood loss, shock condition of the soldiers – all of this doctors and nurses selflessly took over them.
Doctors-surgeons and trauma surgeons, anesthesiologists from the first minute of arrival of seriously injured into hospital departments started doing operations and other actions to rescue the injured. These doctors are V.H. Novikov, Ye.M. Ilinov, I.I. Lisovyi, I.O. Verveiko, O.F. Stronova and many others. Urgently called professional doctors of Donetsk took the hardest fighters to the Neurosurgical Department of the regional hospital. Thanks to high professionalism and mercy of Volnovakha doctors, nurses and orderlies many soldiers were saved. In the next two days they were sent to specialized institutions – military hospitals of Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv. The residents of Volnovakha were also compassionate. Entrepreneurs, teachers, railway workers, pensioners immediately began to bring blood, medicines, clothing, bedding and food to the hospitals.
Sixteen fighters died on the Donetsk area. With deep sorrow I learned that among the dead there are my countrymen. The driver-medic Andrii Nechyporuk from Bronnyky village, Rivnenskyi raion, the scouts Leonid Ozeranchuk from Osnytsk and Vitalii Marynych from Rokytne village.
Did the young guys think that they would die so far from their native Polissia? Do any of us want to continue this meaningless war that is taking more and more human lives?
Volnovakha mothers forgive us for not protecting your sons, forgive for paying such a price for other people’s lives. Volnovakha is in mourning. We will not forget the boys from Rivne and Volyn. You will always be in our hearts. Eternal memory to the heroes.
