Vitalii P. Vinnichenko

Born on August 1, 1973, in the city of Zhmerinka, Vinnytsia region. In 1990, he graduated from secondary school No. 4 in Zhmerinka. He worked for about six months as a polisher at the dental clinic in Zhmerinka. Since 1991, he served in the Border Troops of Ukraine (since 2003 - the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine). He completed his mandatory military service in Western Ukraine. He then graduated from the Academy of the Border Troops of Ukraine named after Bohdan Khmelnytsky (now - the National Academy of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine named after Bohdan Khmelnytsky, in the city of Khmelnytsky). He served at the Training Center for Junior Specialists of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (now - named after Major General Ihor Momot - military unit 9930, in the village of Orshanytsia, Sosnivka district, Cherkasy city), with his last position being a senior lecturer in the department of training in border service tactics within the cycle of training in border disciplines and legal training. He studied at the Kyiv Slavic University majoring in "Organization Management." Since the spring of 2014, he participated in the anti-terrorist operation in eastern Ukraine. On June 14, 2014, a convoy of vehicles from the State Border Guard Service, which included Major Vitaliy Vinnichenko, was heading for rotation to the border units with a cargo of provisions and equipment. Around 10:00, on the outskirts of the city of Mariupol in the Donetsk region, near the Azovstal metallurgical plant, the convoy was ambushed by militants and was fired upon with automatic and sniper weapons and grenades. During the battle, Major Vitaliy Vinnichenko, who was in the bus at the rear of the convoy, sustained serious injuries. A fragment hit the officer in the right side, under the bulletproof vest, in the unprotected area under the arm, and ruptured his liver. An hour later, Major Vitaliy Vinnichenko died from his injuries in an ambulance on the way to the hospital. During the confrontation, Senior Sergeant Serhiy Yepifanov, Major Mykola Zaytsev, and serviceman (driver) Oleksandr Ostrovskyi also died. On the same day, warrant officer Volodymyr Hrechanyi died from his injuries in a hospital in Mariupol. Another 7 border guards sustained injuries of varying severity. On June 18, 2014, he was buried in the cemetery of the village of Noskivtsi, Zhmerinka district, Vinnytsia region.