Viacheslav M. Biriuk

Vyacheslav Mykolayovych Biryuk was born on December 30, 1973, in the village of Ivot, Shostka district, Sumy region. He grew up in the city of Shostka. From a young age, V'yacheslav was passionate about music. After graduating from school, he enrolled in the Sumy Music College, where he received a diploma as a junior specialist in the specialty of "Trumpet." He served his mandatory military service in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In 1995, V'yacheslav signed a contract for military service in military unit 3022 of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, holding the position of musician in the military unit's orchestra. V'yacheslav did not part with his musical instrument throughout his service. In 2020, he was discharged to the reserve but later returned to service, to his team and his beloved activity — music. V'yacheslav was a loving father and caring husband, having a wife and a son. On February 24, 2022, the Russian Federation began a full-scale invasion of troops into the territory of Ukraine. While carrying out assigned combat missions, the personnel of military unit 3022, along with V'yacheslav Biryuk, partially left their permanent deployment location and proceeded to serve at checkpoints on the Kyiv — Chernihiv road. On March 30, 2022, Master Sergeant V'yacheslav Mykolayovych was performing a combat mission at checkpoint No. 2 in the village of Kolychivka, Chernihiv region, along with his comrades, blocking the direction to the city of Nizhyn and the city of Kyiv. Around 17:25, during another massive artillery shelling of the village of Kolychivka, which was the last stronghold of defense — the gateway to the city of Chernihiv, V'yacheslav Biryuk moved to the shelter of a trench, but was struck by a fragment of a shell that hit the checkpoint where the guard was performing his combat mission, just a few meters from his position. V'yacheslav died on the spot from the injuries sustained, which were incompatible with life. For his personal courage and selfless actions demonstrated in the defense of the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and for his loyalty to the military oath, Master Sergeant Biryuk V'yacheslav Mykolayovych was posthumously awarded the Order of "For Courage" of the III degree.