Vadym S. Mykolenko

Vadym Serhiyovych Mykolenko was born on March 27, 1996, in the village of Vereskuny, Priluky district, Chernihiv region. He worked in the structure of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine since 2016. During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he participated in combat operations from the very first day. He was a paramedic-rescuer of the search and rescue group of the search and rescue and airborne assault service of the special aviation squad of the operational rescue service of civil protection of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. On February 23, 2022, civil protection warrant officer Vadym Mykolenko began combat duty for search and rescue support in the unified system for conducting aviation operations for search, rescue, and firefighting at the Nizhyn airfield. In the night of February 24, 2022, a massive missile attack on the infrastructure of the city of Nizhyn began from the Russian Federation. Without leaving his post, Vadym Mykolenko continued to perform his duties with dignity and courage. A direct hit by a Kalibr cruise missile occurred around 5:30 AM, striking the command and dispatch point. Vadym Mykolenko died on the spot from his injuries. For personal courage and selfless actions demonstrated in the defense of the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and loyalty to the military oath, Vadym Serhiyovych Mykolenko was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage III degree.