Vladyslav S. Vovk

Vovk Vladislav Serhiyovych was born on February 23, 1996, in Mariupol, Donetsk region. From January 2018 to January 2021, Sergeant Vladislav Vovk served under contract in the 1st Border Guard Detachment, participating in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) and the Joint Forces Operation (JFO). During this time, Vladislav established himself as a responsible and disciplined serviceman who diligently approached the tasks assigned to him. With the onset of the full-scale invasion of Russian Federation troops into Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Vladislav Vovk took up the defense of Mariupol and was called to military service through mobilization. Alongside servicemen of the separate special purpose detachment "Azov" of the National Guard of Ukraine and the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Vladislav Vovk carried out combat missions in Mariupol and its surroundings, where fierce battles were taking place with the enemy. The occupiers were delivering massive air, artillery, and mortar strikes. From the first days, Russian troops, using a large amount of armored vehicles, attempted to break deep into the city. Ukrainian defenders, including Sergeant Vladislav Vovk, desperately held back enemy advances, trying to prevent the enemy's progress. On March 7, 2022, during combat duty in a residential area of the city, a group, which included Vladislav Vovk, engaged in a fierce battle with the enemy. The adversary had an advantage in personnel and equipment and attempted to encircle the Ukrainian defenders. Thanks to the decisive and coordinated actions of the border guards, the enemy suffered irreversible losses and was forced to retreat. On April 15, 2022, during an enemy artillery and tank shelling, Sergeant Vladislav Vovk sustained injuries incompatible with life. For his personal courage and selfless actions demonstrated in the defense of the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and loyalty to the military oath, Sergeant Vovk Vladislav Serhiyovych was posthumously awarded the Order of "For Courage" of the III degree.