Serhii O. Vladykin

Vladikin Serhiy Oleksandrovych was born on November 11, 1974, in Lysychansk, Luhansk region. In 1993, he graduated from the Lysychansk Mining Technical School, and in 1996 from the Donetsk Police School of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. For 22 years, he held the position of senior inspector at the Main Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in Luhansk region. For over 2 years, Sergeant Serhiy Vladikin ensured the protection of the state border of Ukraine within the responsibility of the 3rd Border Detachment of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. On March 5, 2022, a combined group, while carrying out a combat mission in the area of Novokrasnyanka village in Kreminna district of Luhansk region, discovered an enemy column. The border guards advanced to the railway bridge to hold the defense. When enemy infantry approached the positions of the defense forces, the combined group opened concentrated fire to hit and forced the aggressor to retreat. After a failed attempt to encircle the border units, suffering losses, Russian troops changed their tactics and switched to remote shelling. The enemy did not abandon its attempts to advance. Serhiy Vladikin covered the actions of the border unit with small arms fire, selflessly holding back the advance of Russian troops. Caught in the epicenter of the battle, Serhiy died a heroic death. For personal courage and selfless actions displayed in defense of the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and loyalty to the military oath, Sergeant Vladikin Serhiy Oleksandrovych was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage III degree.