Vitalii M. Hrytsaienko (Hohol)

Vitaliy Mykolayovych Hrytsayenko was born on August 3, 1990, in the city of Poltava. In 2008, he graduated from Poltava Secondary School No. 20 named after Borys Serhiy. He studied at Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs, majoring in "Law". He lived in Kharkiv, working as a district police officer. Since 2014, he has been a volunteer in the ATO and JFO. He served as a gunner in a mortar platoon in Mariupol, Donetsk region. After 4 years of service, he rose to the rank of senior lieutenant and was appointed deputy commander for combat and special training of the OZSP NGU "Azov". On February 27, 2022, warships of the Russian Federation began shelling the coast of the Sea of Azov in the area of Mariupol, followed by attempts to land a naval landing force. The first to engage in battle were the Ukrainian naval infantry, who repelled three attempts by the invaders to land. Suffering significant losses, the enemy was forced to retreat for regrouping. The task of covering their retreat and temporarily holding the coastal lines was entrusted to a group of servicemen of the OZSP NGU "Azov", which included Senior Lieutenant Vitaliy Hrytsayenko. For 48 hours, the Azov soldiers repelled four attempts by the enemy to land a naval landing force and inflicted significant losses on them. In particular, Senior Lieutenant Hrytsayenko personally destroyed 9 invaders. On March 1, 2022, around 16:30, the enemy made another attempt to break through the defense of Mariupol. From the direction of the village of Kalynivka, 9 tanks and about a company of enemy manpower advanced. During the battle, Vitaliy Hrytsayenko personally destroyed an enemy tank with an RPG-22 and about two dozen Russian infantry with small arms. His subordinates destroyed 3 enemy tanks that had just entered the battle. After that, the occupiers tried to bypass the Ukrainian positions from the flank, but it was there that Senior Lieutenant Hrytsayenko had previously set up anti-tank mines, so another 3 Russian tanks were destroyed. The rest tried to retreat, but well-chosen positions and clearly assigned tasks allowed the guards to destroy the rest of the enemy's armored vehicles. The enemy column was completely destroyed. On March 15, 2022, Senior Lieutenant Vitaliy Hrytsayenko received another task - to block the movement of a small enemy group. However, around 11:00, the guards counted 12 units of various types of armored vehicles, including three self-propelled artillery systems, two BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers, and the number of enemy soldiers was about two companies. Despite the enemy's significant advantage in manpower, the servicemen engaged in battle. Catching the occupiers off guard, they destroyed three BTR-8, four "Tiger" armored vehicles, one "Lynx" armored vehicle, and about three dozen Russian soldiers in the first 10 minutes. For two hours, until reinforcements arrived, the guards held their positions, and after accurate artillery fire, they launched a counterattack and forced the enemy to retreat. In that battle, Senior Lieutenant Vitaliy Hrytsayenko personally destroyed 2 "Tiger" APCs, about a platoon of manpower, and after the counterattack, captured a Russian officer. On the night of March 19, 2022, a group of "Azov" servicemen, including Senior Lieutenant Vitaliy Hrytsayenko, successfully carried out a raid into the rear of the enemy. As a result, a command post was discovered and destroyed, one rear warehouse and one ammunition warehouse were blown up. Our soldiers also destroyed 1 tank, 2 BTRs, and about a platoon of enemy manpower, mostly officers. During a fierce battle in the Left Bank district of Mariupol, the officer was seriously wounded and died on the spot. The farewell ceremony for Deputy Commander of the "Azov" Regiment, Vitaliy Hrytsayenko, took place near the Svyato-Uspensky Cathedral. The "Azov" soldiers' farewell to the deceased took place on November 3, 2022, at the "Atek" base in Kyiv. The next day, his body was cremated at the Baikove Cemetery. The farewell ceremony took place on November 6 in Poltava near the Svyato-Uspensky Cathedral. Vitaliy Hrytsayenko was buried in the Alley of Glory of the city cemetery in Poltava.