Vladyslav Yu. Onyshchenko (Poet)

Reconnaissance officer Vladyslav Onyshchenko (call sign Poet) was killed on August 6, 2023, while carrying out a combat mission, when he crossed the Dnipro River in the area of Kozachi Laheri village in the Kherson region. The defender was forever 21 years old. Vladyslav was from the city of Kirovohrad (now Kropyvnytskyi). He graduated from Gymnasium No. 9 there. Then he studied at the Faculty of Foreign Languages at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, majoring in "German Translation and Intercultural Communication". He was a creative person. He was passionate about music and literature. He wrote poems and songs, and played in a rock band. When the full-scale war began, the young man was a 3rd-year student. He left his studies and in February 2022 joined the Lviv Territorial Defense Forces. In March, he went to Kyiv, where he joined the volunteer battalion "Revenge". Later, he became part of the assault brigade of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. He was in the hottest spots: in Enerhodar, Bakhmut, and in the Zaporizhzhia direction. For his brave service, the young warrior was awarded medals from the Main Directorate of Intelligence "For Courage in the Performance of Special Tasks" and "Honorary Distinction". "Poet wrote songs, gave concerts with his group, and relaxed in between rotations. He never feared responsibility, took on any tasks, and always justified the trust. He was constantly discovering new things and taking his friends with him. He was brave by nature, not only on the battlefield, but in life in general. Vlad wanted to voice cartoons, he could perfectly parody anyone, from the president to his immediate commander. A worthy son of his father, who has been in the ATO since 2014. With Vlad, you could discuss anything, it was cool with him," his comrade-in-arms said. "Friends and teachers will remember Vladyslav as an extraordinary creative personality and at the same time as a hero with great ambitions and an unbreakable spirit," the Lviv National University noted. Vladyslav was buried at the Forest Cemetery in Kyiv. He is survived by his parents, brother, girlfriend, relatives, friends, and comrades-in-arms.