Vitalii V. Filipets (Fil)

Soldier Vitaliy Filipets was killed on September 26, 2022, while carrying out a combat mission in the Donetsk region. The 44-year-old defender's life was cut short by a tank shelling near the village of Berestove. Vitaliy was born and lived in Chernivtsi. He received a secondary education. In 2013, he married his beloved Maria. Later, the couple had a son named Ivan. The husband imagined driving him to school and helping him with his homework. However, on February 24, 2022, a full-scale war began. In the spring, Vitaliy joined the ranks of the 10th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade and went to the Donetsk region. Whenever possible, he tried to stay in touch with his family. He said he missed them very much. On September 1, little Ivan started 1st grade. Vitaliy promised that he would drive his son to school next year. But that same month, he was killed. "Ivanko is very upset. We communicate with a star in the sky every day. This star is our dad. It turned out that the son supports me more than I support him, although it should be the other way around. He constantly says: 'Mom, everything will be fine, just don't cry.' It seems to me that the more time passes, the harder it is to accept that Vitaliy is no longer there, to realize that he will never return. It still seems that he is at war and will soon come home. Every time I look at the phone, I think - maybe he will call? I want to hear his voice, ask for some advice. He was everything to us. I always told him: 'You and our son are my life,'" said the wife of the fallen Mariya. The defender was buried in the Alley of Glory of the Central Cemetery in his native Chernivtsi. Vitaliy is survived by his parents, wife, son Ivan, and two children from previous relationships.