Volodymyr M. Padun

21-year-old junior sergeant Volodymyr Padun was killed on September 9, 2022, while performing a combat mission in the area of the village of Spirne in the Donetsk region. The defender received a fatal shrapnel wound during enemy shelling. Volodymyr was born in the village of Velyka Bilozerka, Zaporizhia region. He obtained the profession of an electric locomotive driver at the Dniprorudne Lyceum. He worked at the Zaporizhia Iron Ore Plant, was calm, balanced, sociable, and had many friends. He was interested in everything, learned a lot, loved life and planned for the future. He dreamed of buying a BMW car. In December 2021, the young man was demobilized from military service. After the start of the full-scale war, Volodymyr decided to join the ranks of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine to defend the borders from the enemy. He served as a cynologist in the Chernivtsi region. Later, his unit was transferred to the front line. "He was very sociable, sensitive, and cheerful. Everyone respected and loved him. He really wanted a family, but didn't have time to start one. He left no one to me, and he is my one and only best son," said his mother Aliona. The defender was buried at the Kushuhum cemetery in Zaporizhia. Volodymyr is survived only by his mother.