Volodymyr Yu. Ostapenko (Zorro Sipliy)

A 25-year-old intelligence officer, Volodymyr Ostapenko, was killed in action on March 8, 2022, while performing a combat mission in the Kharkiv region. The fighter was born in the city of Pavlohrad in Dnipropetrovsk region. He finished school and immediately went to serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In his free time, he constantly engaged in sports. Volodymyr served in the 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade "Kholodny Yar" since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war. He participated in the ATO/OOS. The fighter loved service and saw himself in the military. When the full-scale war began, Volodymyr, as part of the brigade, defended the Kharkiv region. According to his sister Irina, on March 8, he said goodbye to his loved ones, saying that he loved them all. And after that, contact with him was lost. For over 20 days, relatives could not find any information about their defender. Eventually, a local resident of Izium made contact. The man said that he had buried Volodymyr and two of his fallen comrades. "Volodymyr was a good person, kind, always positive - this is the best trait of his character. Talk to him and you get a charge of positivity. He always came to the rescue when needed. Loved his country. He said, 'Who, if not us, will preserve it?' He devoted all his years to the army, did not see himself in any other job. No matter how hard it was for us, his whole family supported him! 'Victory is ours,' he always said! We miss him very much. Vova is our hero! We will avenge every Ukrainian," said Volodymyr's beloved girlfriend, Tetyana. The hero was buried in his hometown on the Alley of Glory at the Lugansk cemetery. At home, Volodymyr was awaited by his parents, sister, and beloved girlfriend. Sergeant Volodymyr Ostapenko was posthumously awarded the Order of "Courage" III degree.