Vitalii V. Klochenko (Vint)

Senior Sailor Vitaliy Klochenko (call sign Vint) was killed on February 12, 2024, in Vyazemsky SIZO No. 2 in the Smolensk region of Russia. Since April 2022, the military has been in Russian captivity, where he ended up from Mariupol. Vitaliy was 41 years old. He was born and lived in Voznesensk, Mykolaiv region. After graduating from local school No. 8, he obtained the profession of a builder at vocational school No. 18. In civilian life, he worked as a finisher at a local enterprise. In his free time, he loved fishing and woodworking. He has been defending Ukraine since 2014. He first served in the ranks of the 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after the Knights of the Winter Campaign, then in the 57th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade named after Koshovy Otaman Kost Hordiyenko. He was awarded the medal "For Service to the State". In 2020, he signed a contract with the 36th Separate Marine Brigade named after Rear Admiral Mykhailo Bilynsky. He held the position of machine gunner-scout. He fought for Mariupol, from where on April 12, 2022, together with his comrades-in-arms, he ended up in Russian captivity. During the exchange in early January 2024, Vitaliy's wife Oksana Klochenko, communicating with the exchanged military, learned that her husband was in the SIZO of Vyazma and fell ill during his stay there. Among the bodies returned to Ukraine on March 15, 2024, was the body of Vitaliy Klochenko. The defender was buried in his hometown. At home, he was awaited by his mother, wife, three children, and two sisters.