Vladyslav V. Karpenko (Shark)

Captain Vladyslav Karpenko (call sign Shark) was killed on August 17, 2022, while rescuing his comrades during an enemy air strike in the area of Vesela Dolyna village in Donetsk region. The defender was forever 28 years old. Vladyslav was born in the village of Malomykhailivka, Dnipropetrovsk region. He studied at the local school. Then he graduated from the National Academy of Land Forces named after Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi in Lviv. After graduating in 2015, he joined the ranks of the 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade "Kholodnyi Yar". At first, he was a platoon commander, and then he commanded a tank company. He participated in the ATO / JFO in Donbas. In 2020, Vladyslav left the army. He got married and raised his firstborn. However, with the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, Shark returned to the ranks of his native brigade and continued to defend Ukraine from the occupiers. He commanded a machine gun platoon in the 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade. At first, along with the unit, he defended the Kharkiv region, and later - the Donetsk region. "Vladyslav was courageous, brave and honest. He never left anyone in trouble, always came to help and offered his brave shoulder," said the officer's wife, Oksana. Vladyslav was buried in his native village. At home, his parents, younger brother, wife and son were waiting for him. Captain Vladyslav Karpenko was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage of the III degree.