Vitalii Ye. Plakhotin

20-year-old soldier Vitaliy Plakhotin was killed in action on June 1, 2022, while performing a combat mission in Donetsk region. The fighter suffered fatal shrapnel wounds during the enemy shelling. Vitaliy was born in the village of Maksymivka in the Kharkiv region. When the boy was three years old, his parents divorced. Vitaliy was raised by his mother alone. She recalls that Vitaliy was very disciplined, always cheerful and at the same time serious from childhood. Vitaliy finished 9th grade and went to study as an auto mechanic at the Krasnohrad Professional Lyceum. The boy was fond of playing checkers. He participated in competitions during his studies, had medals for 2nd and 3rd places. Vitaliy told his mother that he wants to live in Mykolaiv and open his own business there. However, in 2020, the boy decided to link his life with military service and signed a contract with the 79th separate airborne assault brigade. He held the position of a gunner of a reconnaissance platoon. During the full-scale war, Vitaliy, as part of his unit, performed combat missions on hot fronts. At some point, he stopped contacting his mother, she turned to acquaintances and volunteers for help. The military reported that on June 1, there was a heavy battle. The boys who retreated jumped under the bridge to hide. No one knew if Vitaliy was there. But there was a direct hit. A few days later, his uncle, also a serviceman, called and said that Vitaliy was not there. Vitalik was my student. Always cheerful, friendly, ready to help. One of the first to go to war... I still can't believe he's gone. Why? What for? No words can alleviate the burning pain and heal the wounds in the soul. The bright memory of the courageous defender of Ukraine will forever remain in our hearts, Valentina Kostochka, director of the Kostyantyniv Lyceum, where the deceased defender stu, wrote. Vitaliy was buried in his native village in the Kharkiv region. The defender's mother, Svitlana Rumiantsieva, said that Vitaliy had a beloved girlfriend. She is an orphan and lived with him. Now Svitlana will take care of her only son's beloved one.