Vitalii V. Zozulia (Smail)

Sergeant Major Vitaliy Zozulya (call sign Smile) was killed on May 21, 2023, while carrying out a combat mission near the settlement of Bilohorivka in the Luhansk region. In June, the defender would have turned 28 years old. Vitaliy was born in the village of Zaliske, Cherkasy region. After finishing school, he obtained the profession of a tractor mechanic at the Talyanky Agrotechnical Professional College. He worked at the Korsun agro-firm. He was passionate about beekeeping. During the full-scale invasion, in March 2022, he was enlisted in the military service of the National Guard of Ukraine. He served in the 1st Presidential Brigade of the Operational Designation named after Hetman Petro Doroshenko ("Bureviy). He held the position of squad commander. "You showed me what a real man should be, I will pass this on to my sons. You showed how one can love, I will love my sons in the same way. You showed how one can love Ukraine, we will love her in the same way..." - wrote the wife of the fallen soldier. The warrior was buried in his native village in the Cherkasy region. At home, Vitaliy was awaited by his wife Liliya and three sons: Tymur, Yan, and Hordiy.