Viktor B. Vovchuk (Vovk)

Sergeant Viktor Vovchuk (call sign Wolf) was killed on June 18, 2023, while carrying out a combat mission in the village of Novodanylivka, Zaporizhia region. The warrior was 52 years old. Viktor was born and lived in Ivano-Frankivsk. He studied at Lyceum No. 17 and later graduated from the Ivano-Frankivsk National Technical University of Oil and Gas. He was an economist by profession. He loved to engage in sports. Recently, he worked as a security guard at the ATB supermarket. From the first days of the full-scale invasion, he took up the defense of Ukraine. He fought in the ranks of the 65th Separate Mechanized Brigade. He was the commander of the reconnaissance unit. He was awarded the "For Wounds" medal, the "Cossack Cross" award for combat merits, and the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Council medal "Knight of the Combat Deed." "There are no words in the world to describe my despair... This was the closest, the best person in my life, behind whom I felt like a stone wall. Fair, honest, brave, ready to come to the rescue at any time. Family was the most important thing for him," said the deceased's wife, Ulyana Vovchuk. "He showed by his life example what a real man should be like and inspired. He was the standard of courage and bravery. We went to fight as volunteers from the first days, because we knew that behind our backs were families, our friends, relatives, and comrades whom we had to protect," added his childhood friend Serhiy Romaniuk. Viktor was buried in the Demianiv Laz cemetery near his hometown. The defender left behind a wife, daughter, and stepson. In March 2024, a memorial plaque in memory of Viktor Vovchuk was unveiled on the facade of Lyceum No. 17 in the hero's hometown.