Vitalii Yu. Baklan (Barakuda)

Soldier Vitaliy Baklan (call sign Barakuda) was killed on July 18, 2023, while carrying out a combat mission on the Velykyi Potemkinskyi Island near Kherson. In the battle with the occupiers, firing from a machine gun and holding the entire flank, he covered his comrades. The fighter received a fatal gunshot wound. He was forever 24 years old. Vitaliy was born in the village of Antonivka, Mykolaiv region. He graduated from 9 grades of school and Novobuzky College with a degree in "Agroengineering". In 2018, he went to work at the Bashtanka Department of Education, holding the position of a mechanic. Then he served in the National Guard of Ukraine in Kyiv. In 2020, he was demobilized and again worked at the Bashtanka Department of Education. In 2022, he obtained a full higher education in the specialty "Agroengineering" at the Mykolaiv National Agrarian University. In his free time, he loved to play football. On the second day of the full-scale invasion, on February 25, 2022, Vitaliy voluntarily joined the ranks of the defenders of Ukraine. He served in the 123rd separate brigade of the territorial defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He was a rifleman-assistant to a grenade launcher of the 190th battalion. "He was an incredibly bright and sincere person. He always helped everyone and never left in a difficult moment. He was kind to all those around him. He loved cats and dogs since he was little, constantly bringing homeless animals home. He loved to play football, he dreamed of becoming a footballer since childhood. He always smiled, lifted everyone's mood, said that everything would be fine, that he would return alive. Vitaliy was a true warrior, a patriot of his Motherland, a courageous defender with an unbreakable spirit. Until the last moment, he remained devoted to his comrades, preserving their lives at the cost of his own," said the deceased's sister Alesia. The young warrior was buried in his native village. At home, Vitaliy was awaited by his parents, sister, girlfriend, relatives, and friends.