Valerii F. Hudz (79th)

Valeriy Fedorovych Hudz was born on February 12, 1971, in the city of Boryspil, Kyiv region. In 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed, Valeriy Hudz, a cadet of the final year at the Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School, submitted a report to the school's commandant requesting his transfer to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served in the Ukrainian army for 10 years, particularly in the 79th Separate Air Assault Brigade in Mykolaiv. He was discharged with the rank of major. In peacetime, he lived in Boryspil and worked as a teacher at the Boryspil Vocational Technical College. A sports master in boxing, he was a boxing coach at the district sports school and taught the basics of Homeland Defense and Physical Culture and Health at the Boryspil Vocational College, where he worked since 2006. He was the initiator and founder of the military-patriotic club "Boryviter" and was elected as a deputy of the Boryspil District Council of the VII convocation. With the onset of Russian armed aggression against Ukraine, Valeriy Hudz arrived at the military enlistment office in March 2014 to resume service. He was offered the position of platoon commander of a mechanized brigade, and he immediately agreed. He was assigned to the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade. In the summer of 2014, he was appointed company commander. He participated in battles in the "D" sector on the border with the Russian Federation, under fire from Russian "Grad" rocket systems, in the area of the city of Chervonopartyzansk in Luhansk region. On August 28, 2014, during a battle in the city of Starobeshiv, Donetsk region, he was wounded. In September 2014, Valeriy Hudz was appointed commander of the 3rd battalion of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade. He took part in battles in the area of the city of Volnovakha, near the settlements of Petrivske, Bila Kamyanka, and Novolaspa. Under his command, operations were developed and conducted to take control of the spoil tips around the city of Dokuchayevsk and operations to capture dominant heights in the steppes of Pryazovya. At the beginning of 2015, he received the rank of lieutenant colonel, and in July 2015, he was appointed deputy commander of the brigade. From December 2017 to 2020, he was the commander of the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade. He participated in battles in the area of the city of Avdiivka. Possessing command talent and significant combat experience, he repeatedly saved the lives of soldiers with his decisions. In November 2019, Valeriy Hudz was prematurely awarded the military rank of colonel. At the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Rashists into Ukraine, he was a student at the Ivan Chernyakhovsky National Defense University of Ukraine, but he returned to the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade to organize its reinforcement. In March 2022, he planned and personally led an offensive operation to clear the outskirts of the city of Popasna from Russian troops. He was killed on March 12, 2022, in battles in Luhansk region. On March 15, 2022, Valeriy Hudz was buried in Boryspil, Kyiv region.