Volodymyr M. Nikiforov (Vedmid)

Junior Sergeant Volodymyr Nikiforov (call sign Bear) was killed on January 17, 2023, while performing a combat mission in the Bakhmut area in Donetsk region as a result of an explosion and fire attack on a column of armored vehicles. His comrades-in-arms also perished with him. The warrior was forever 50 years old. Volodymyr was born and lived in Ukrainka, Kyiv region. After finishing school, he continued his studies at the local vocational school No. 2, where he mastered the profession of an electrical fitter. During his studies, he actively engaged in karate and hockey. During breaks from military service, he worked in the State Emergency Service, was the chief administrator and head of security at the city market. He loved weapons and knives very much. He taught himself the English language. In his free time, he helped animal shelters. He was engaged in sports and yoga. The man first encountered war in the early 1990s when he served in the border troops. He guarded the state border in Nagorno-Karabakh. During his military service, Volodymyr was awarded four military valor badges, as well as the medal "For Distinction in the Protection of the State Border". In the spring of 2014, having volunteered, Volodymyr went to eastern Ukraine. He joined the 11th battalion of the territorial defense "Kyivan Rus", which later became a motorized infantry unit. He fought in the reconnaissance unit until the summer of 2015. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, on February 24, 2022, the man voluntarily joined the ranks of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. He actively participated in the defense of Irpin in the Kyiv region. He repeatedly carried out responsible combat missions in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, in the Zaporizhzhia region and in other directions. He was repeatedly awarded departmental awards of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, and posthumously - the medal "For Combat Merit". "My beloved is the embodiment of a true man. Smart, strong, brave, handsome, principled, courageous, unbreakable, a protector, a man of his word. He always thought about his loved ones. In the family, he was very caring, responsible, thrifty, tender, romantic," said the wife of the fallen warrior, Lyudmyla. The hero was buried in his hometown. Volodymyr is survived by his parents, brother, wife and daughter.