On March 18, 2014, Russian military forces and their controlled armed groups attacked the 13th Photogrammetric Center in Simferopol. Ukrainian warrant officer Serhiy Kokurin was on duty at the time.

During the assault, Kokurin was stationed at the unit’s observation tower. Russian special forces stormed the facility and killed him with two gunshots. He was 36 years old. At the time of his death, his family was expecting their second child.

The death of Serhiy Kokurin was one of the first tragic events to shatter the Russian myth of a “bloodless” seizure of Crimea. In reality, Russian claims were a cover for weapons, military pressure, assaults on Ukrainian units, and human casualties. Russia brought violence to Crimea, not peace, and the death of a Ukrainian soldier in the center of Simferopol was direct proof of this.

Today, Serhiy Kokurin’s name is not just a record of the early days of the occupation. He is remembered as a man who remained faithful to his military oath and to Ukraine while the fate of the peninsula was being decided.

His sacrifice reminds us that the occupation of Crimea began with armed aggression against Ukrainian statehood, the military, and all who opposed the violent seizure of the peninsula, rather than with political declarations.

Remembering Serhiy Kokurin means remembering the first fatal shot of this war and the price the state and its citizens have paid for the right to remain Ukrainian.