“My son was the best in the world”

In the morning of June 14 in the vicinity of Mariupol, near the Azovstal Plant, separatists opened fire at the convoy of vehicles of the State Border Guard Service from an ambush. The terrorists were shooting from automatic guns and grenade launchers. As a result five border guard officers were killed and seven more were injured. Vitalii Vinnychenko, a major from Zhme­rynka, was killed.

Vitalii was born on August 1, 1973 in Zhmerynka. In 1990 he graduated from the secondary school No. 4. After the army he went to study to the Bohdan Khmelnytsky National Academy of the State Border Guard Service. After the gra­­dua­tion he worked at the training unit Orshanets. At the same time he was studying at Kyiv Slavonic University where he majored in ma­nagement of organization. He received the rank of major. He was divorced. His ex-wife Iryna with 11-year-old son Nazarii are residing in Khmelnytsky. Vitalii was living with his mother. He was her only stronghold and hope.

“My son was the best in the world,” his mother Liubov Olek­sandrivna spoke tearfully about her son, “For his whole life he liked to learn, discover new things, and achieve his goals. Till the last moment he did not tell me he was in the hell of war. He kept saying he was at the training and that he would return soon. He did his best to protect me. I will be thankful to him for this. I will remember him and mourn over him till the last day of my life.”

Vitalii Vinnychenko was buried on June 18. The residents of Zhme­rynka bid last adieu to him in a special way, like he deserved. Several hundred of people came to Alexander Nevsky Church, in the Square of Peace: his family, friends, col­lea­gues, leaders of the oblast and raion – everyone who cared about the loss of the patriot, who fought for the sovereignty of Ukraine and gave his life for his Fatherland.

“He was so young,” people were whispering. Vitalii would have turned 41 in a month. His friends admit that he had many plans. Most of all, he dreamed of traveling, meeting new people, and getting new impressions. Eternal memory to him.