Vitalii M. Kryzhak

Born on May 12, 1988, in the village of Trebukhivtsi, Letichiv district, Khmelnytskyi region. In 2005, he graduated from the general education school of the village of Trebukhivtsi, then from the Holoskiv Professional Agrarian Lyceum in the village of Holoskiv, Letichiv district, specializing as a "Tractor Driver - Operator of Agricultural Production." He served under contract in the 8th Separate Special Purpose Regiment of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (military unit A0553, city of Khmelnytskyi). After the contract term ended, he was discharged to the reserve of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. On August 14, 2014, he voluntarily applied to the Letichiv-Starosynyavskyi United District Military Commissariat and was sent to serve in the military under mobilization at the 184th Training Center of the Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi National Army Academy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (military unit A2615, village of Starychi, Yavoriv district, Lviv region). After completing his training, he was assigned to continue military service in the 12th Territorial Defense Battalion "Kyiv" of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (restructured in October 2014 into the 12th Separate Motorized Infantry Battalion of the 26th Separate Artillery Brigade of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, military unit field post V2277, city of Berdychiv, Zhytomyr region). Since September 2014, he participated in the Anti-Terrorist Operation in eastern Ukraine. On November 26, 2014, while crossing a checkpoint near the village of Raihorodka, Novoaidar district, Luhansk region, the truck in which Senior Soldier Kryzhak was traveling was fired upon with small arms. As a result of the shelling, Vitaliy Kryzhak died from his injuries. He was buried in the cemetery of the village of Trebukhivtsi, Letichiv district.