Vitalii A. Movchan

Vitali Anatoliyovych Movchan was born on March 17, 1998, in Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast. In 2016, he signed a contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, where he held the position of mechanic-driver. Later, he enrolled at the Ivan Kozhedub Air Force University of Kharkiv, graduating in 2020. The crew of the anti-aircraft missile system, led by Lieutenant Vitali Movchan, was on combat duty on February 24, 2022, during the Russian invasion, protecting local civilians and troops involved in the Joint Forces Operation. Thus, it fell to Vitali to engage in combat with the enemy, whose forces significantly outnumbered his own. When an aerial target approached, which the anti-aircraft gunners identified as an enemy aircraft, at around 6:50, Vitali conducted his first combat launch of an anti-aircraft missile in his life. Shortly thereafter, he transmitted a victorious report on the radio: "Target destroyed!" As it turned out a little later, Vitali's crew had "demilitarized" a Russian Su-30 with their first shot. Subordinates (most of whom were much older) testify: Lieutenant Movchan professionally, cold-bloodedly, and selflessly commanded the battle, inspiring the crew by his personal example—his missile system actively maneuvered, changing positions, and subsequently, another precise launch destroyed an enemy drone. It was clear that the enemy's aviation began to hunt for the Ukrainian missile system and its heroic crew, and around 16:00, the irreparable happened—a pair of enemy Mi-24 attack helicopters approached the temporary launch position at critically low altitude and fired unguided missiles at it. Vitali Movchan was killed in the area of the village of Triokhizbenka, Luhansk Oblast, at his combat post. He was buried on March 18, 2022, at the Fedorivske Cemetery in Volodymyr, Volyn Oblast. For personal courage and heroism displayed in defending the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and for loyalty to the military oath, Vitali Anatoliyovych Movchan was posthumously awarded the title of "Hero of Ukraine" with the Order of the Golden Star.