Oleksandr " Dierzkyi" Rusak is a fan of football club "Dnipro", and a representative of "Daring" and Youth" team.

Oleksandr Rusak was born on October 7, 1990, in the city of Dnipro. He studied at Dnipro school number 80 and later received a law degree at a local university. Since childhood, Oleksandr was marked by a sense of justice and love for his country. From a young age, cheering for the main team of his city, he joined the fan movement, where he found many friends. His strong character, eagerness for change, and consolidated environment influenced the fate of the young man. Travelling around Ukraine, Oleksandr absorbed its mental identity. He tried not to miss any matches of his favorite team, often fighting for the honour of his movement beyond the stadium. It would not be long before he would receive recognition and the nickname "Dierzkyi" for his strength and courage.

The popularity of around-football movement was growing every month in the country, and a new ambitious generation of young people began to form in Dnipro. They were expected to become the next generation of "Avangard" - one of the strongest and most famous groups in Ukraine. Oleksandr was one of the brightest representatives of that group and stood at the origins of the "MiD" collective. In those years, "Dierzkyi" consolidated young daredevils around him, who aimed to show their older comrades the seriousness of their intentions to join the elite of Dnipro football. Although the team was not very well-known at the time, he knew everyone personally and very well. However, he had a kind heart, was fond of animals, and protected abandoned dogs. He was a great patriot of Ukraine. Later he would be remembered as a man who had loved his country even before it became mainstream.

When the Revolution of Dignity began, he did not hesitate to go to the main square of the capital and became one of the fans who, using police batons and shields, defended the right of the Ukrainian people for freedom from the criminal authorities. As Oleksandr's mother Larysa would be telling later, he called her from Maidan, saying that he had decided to join the protests. In July 2014, her son informed his parents by phone that he had joined the volunteer battalion. At the oath, which was broadcast on TV, it was the last time they saw Oleksandr alive.

His friends recall that Oleksandr’s decision to go to defend Ukraine in the burning Donbas was a quick one and was supported by a very laconic phrase to his comrades: "Guys, why not? You have arms and legs? Go and defend our country". Among a large number of volunteer formations, Oleksandr and his friends chose the Azov, which at that time had already distinguished itself. In fact, that was the very first Azov unit, formed from members of the nationalist group "Patriot of Ukraine". Even at the stage of preparatory training, he became the leader of not only the Dnipro platoon but also the entire conscription. His ability to unite people who until then had been supporting warring clubs, and now had to perform combat missions together, contributed to this. His comrades-in-arms loved and respected Oleksandr because he was always ready to help. He was a trustworthy person and a real example for many people.

Summer 2014 – an unstable front line, occupants' subversive groups in conditionally liberated cities, and separatists. When the liberation operation of Ilovaisk began, "Dierzkyi" became the one who challenged the occupiers. During a reconnaissance trip on August 23, 2014, in the city of Ilovaisk, the group, in which Oleksandr served, was ambushed and fired from a grenade launcher. Having been seriously wounded, he remained alive for some time. His comrades-in-arms, soldiers "Bezumnyi", "Gyurza" and "Zolotyi" were injured as well. Waiting for help, Oleksandr's comrades managed to destroy the ambush of the invaders. But, unfortunately, that evening, Oleksandr sacrificed his life for Ukraine, which he loved more than anything else.

On August 31, 2014, before the beginning of Premier League match "Dnipro" - "Vorskla", the fans and players had honoured the memory of "Dierzkyi" with a minute of silence, the players of "Dnipro" came out in black T-shirts with his portrait on them. In 2016, a memorial plaque was installed in the school where Oleksandr Rusak studied. Banners and graffiti displaying his portrait have been appearing in honour of "Dierzkyi" in his native Dnipro all these years, as a reminder of the brave fan who has sacrificed his life for a peaceful sky.

He said that he would always defend his people so that they would not turn into slaves, as you could not make any concessions with the enemy.

That is how the mother of the fallen Hero recalls him.