Vitalii O. Shevchuk (Vitakha)

Sergeant Vitaliy Shevchuk (call sign Vitakha) was killed on December 31, 2022 in the Soledar area in the Donetsk region. While carrying out a combat mission, he saved a comrade and received shrapnel wounds. On January 19, the defender would have turned 39 years old. Vitaliy was born in the village of Druzhba, Vinnytsia region. In childhood, he moved with his mother to the village of Panasivka. He stuwas killed at the Hurovets Secondary School. Then he obtained the profession of a mechanic at the Hushchyntsi Vocational School. He was passionate about military affairs. In 2003-2005 he served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Before the invasion, he worked as a security guard in one of the residential complexes in Kyiv. With the start of the full-scale war, he decided to go to the front. On February 25, 2022, the man joined the 61st Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He held the position of a grenade launcher assistant in the 101st battalion. "My dad was always a loving father and the best husband, as well as a kind, sincere and faithful friend," said Olena Shevchuk. The warrior was buried in the village of Nepedivka, Vinnytsia region. At home in Vitaliy, his wife and daughter were waiting.