A fearless Ukrainan who lived and worked in Ireland for two decades has been killed after returning to his crisis-hit country to help fight against Russia's invasion.
Dublin-based Oleksandr Zavhorodniy was a boss at Aldi when he decided he had to return to his homeland and aid the battle on the frontline.
But tragically, friends have confirmed the father-of-two and died days after heading back to Ukraine, the Irish Mirror reports.
The 45-year-old - known to friends at home and in Ireland as Alex - lost his life on March 30 when Donbas suffered heavy shelling
Tributes have been paid to the brave fighter, who gave up everything to return to try and keep his country secure as the illegal war raged.
The deputy manager of Aldi in Sandyford had been living in Ireland for more than 20 years.
He had been renting a property in Stillorgan before he decided to travel home to Ukraine last month.
Oleksandr’s youngest teenage daughter and his former wife were able to safely get out of Ukraine and his eldest child is living abroad.
However, the family will not be able to return for his funeral later this week. Relatives, friends and colleagues have been shocked and saddened by his tragic death.
Some friends said on Wednesday they believed Oleksandr was being deployed as a sniper for the Ukrainian army when he was killed.
A GoFundMe page has been set up by pals to pay for his funeral and last night it had raised more than €5,000.
Anna Neilande, who organised the campaign with other friends, posted: “When Alex arrived in Warsaw, he gave everything he had at the time to those in need [women and children].
“When he arrived at the military unit, he kept positive and did his best to calm his worrying family and friends by joking and sending funny pictures. We all will miss his kindness and cracking sense of humour, even in the most challenging situations.”
