Soldier, Realna Istoria film editor Oleh Sarelo killed in combat

Oleh Sarelo, soldier and film editor for the project Realna Istoria, has been killed in combat, reported Realna Istoria and 1+1 Media on Facebook on December 9.

Oleh enlisted in the Ukrainian Armed Forces six months before. He served in the separate mechanized brigade No. 72.

As Realna Istoria founder Akim Halimov remarked, Oleh edited more than half of their episodes, “was very talented and very responsible.”

Oleh grew up in Prymorsk, a city near the currently occupied Berdyansk in Zaporizhzhia oblast. He joined Realna Istoria two years ago.

Oleh Sarelo. Photo by Realna Istoria on Facebook

“We gained a reliable, willing, extremely modest and undoubtedly talented person on our team back then. It was a perfect match. Our Oleh could always feel what we wanted to say in the episode, what mood to convey. We learned to understand each other without words. And most importantly, we always knew that Oleh would not let us down,” writes Realna Istoria.

They added that Oleh was growing professionally, learning and dreaming of becoming a director and screenwriter himself.

“He did his job with love and imagination, gave it his all. Our project grew together with him. You, our viewers, wrote us many warm comments about the well-chosen B-rolls and music. It is actually priceless to have such a person by your side,” the message says.

“Oleh was a talented person and brought his vision to every episode he worked on,” 1+1 Media writes.

Oleh is survived by his 10-year-old son Ivan and his wife Kateryna.

According to the Institute of Mass Information, Oleh Sarelo is the 94th media worker to die as a result of Russia's full-scale aggression.