Vitalii V. Pylypenko

Pylypenko Vitaliy Valentynovych was born on February 19, 1974 in the town of Sosnovka, Chervonohrad district, Lviv region. He served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the early 1990s. He worked at a mine in the city of Chervonohrad. Later, he moved to Israel. After the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014, Vitaliy Pylypenko returned from Israel to defend his homeland. At the military enlistment office, Vitaliy was denied conscription due to his age (40 years), and he joined the volunteer unit UNA-UNSO, which soon became part of the 54th separate reconnaissance battalion. From January 13, 2015, Vitaliy Pylypenko participated in battles for the Donetsk airport. In March 2015, he was wounded. He spent three months in the hospital and returned to military service, to the 81st Separate Airmobile Brigade. He fought near the settlements of Zaitseve and Novhorodske. From March 2016, he participated in battles for Avdiivka. On March 31, 2016, he was blown up by a mine hidden in a child's jacket in the rubble of a building. During rehabilitation at the Mechnikov Hospital, he was cared for by a volunteer, with whom they later became a married couple. After the start of the full-scale Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, Vitaliy Pylypenko returned to the 81st Separate Airmobile Brigade as an intelligence officer. He was killed on May 16, 2022 during the performance of a combat mission.