Volodymyr V. Hnatiuk (Fotohraf)

Hnatiuk Volodymyr Volodymyrovych was born on June 20, 1980, in Zhytomyr in a military family. In 1996, he graduated from Ozerne Secondary School, and in 1998, he completed the Zhytomyr Technical Lyceum-Internat specializing in the repair of household appliances, obtaining the qualification of a locksmith-electrician. Almost all of Volodymyr's life was connected with military service. When Volodymyr was not even a year old, his father was sent to Uzbekistan, to the city of Termez, and the whole family went with him. During the Afghan campaign, Termez was an important military base. From 1985, there was another deployment, this time to Hungary. He attended the 1st grade and studied for 5 years in a foreign country. However, despite all the difficulties of that time and constant relocations, Volodymyr forever chose a path for his future. He decided to become a military man like his father. After returning to Ukraine, Volodymyr studied at Ozerne Secondary School, which he successfully graduated from. In 1993, his father, Hnatiuk Volodymyr Petrovych, tragically passed away. These were the hardest times for the entire family, teaching 12-year-old Volodymyr to withstand circumstances, help his relatives, but did not take away his desire to become a military man. In 1999, he served his mandatory service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In 2001, Volodymyr, along with his brother Pavlo, became contract servicemen of the 95th Separate Airborne Brigade (Zhytomyr). Volodymyr went through the path of a true paratrooper: from the position of senior gunner of the airborne platoon of the airborne company to a sniper and senior shooter of the airborne platoon of the airborne company. In 2002, together with his 13th battalion, Volodymyr performed his duties as part of a peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, and in 2004 — in Iraq. After returning from Iraq, Volodymyr fulfilled his desire to study, successfully passed the exams, and became a cadet of the Kyiv Academy of Internal Affairs. In 2008, he got married. On March 7, 2009, his daughter Marta was born. Due to family circumstances, in 2010, Volodymyr was discharged from the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The following period was difficult; not everything in life went as planned. Yet even then, Volodymyr remained cheerful and always smiling. In 2014, difficult and tragic times came for our Ukraine. As an experienced specialist, a true soldier, and a man, Volodymyr decided to defend his country. At the end of November 2014, senior soldier Hnatiuk Volodymyr Volodymyrovych was already performing combat missions in the ATO zone as part of the 90th battalion of the 95th brigade. Enduring all the hardships, all the difficult conditions, all the tragic circumstances, Volodymyr went through the entire Donetsk airport, saved his comrades, and earned the honorary title of "cyborg" with the call sign Photographer. But even after losing many of his closest friends, Volodymyr always believed that everything would be fine. He longed to return home quickly, as his mother, wife, little daughter, and other relatives were waiting and worrying for him.