The Defender of Ukraine was born on December 8, 1996, so it was symbolic that the gathering took place on Vadym’s birthday. His closest family—mother Oksana Lysenkova, sister Yana, and wife Anya—shared touching moments from his life with the guests.
The meeting was also attended by students and teachers from Lyceum No. 261 in the Darnytskyi district of Kyiv, where Vadym studied. Yuliia Kvach, a foreign literature teacher, recalled that he was naturally gifted, creative, and innovative, possessed well-developed critical thinking, loved life, and was interested in everything happening around him.
Last year, a memorial plaque was installed on the façade of the aforementioned educational institution to honor Vadym Lysenkov’s memory. Svitlana Nebozh, the Lyceum’s director, noted that many graduates of the institution are defending Ukraine in the Defense Forces, and six of them have already given their lives.
Olha Pobezhymova, Director of the children’s and youth choreography studio “Happy Childhood,” where Vadym trained for a long time, remembered him exactly like that—bright, inspired, and full of life. Vadym was a capable student, a leader, and always among the winners.
From 2017 to 2020, Vadym Lysenkov served in the “Azov” Separate Special Purpose Detachment of the National Guard of Ukraine. As his wife Anya recalls, after demobilization, he engaged in cryptocurrency trading, loved sports, particularly CrossFit, and participated in marathons.
Volunteer Olha Stoyan shared another of Vadym’s passions—he constantly developed himself, reading by flashlight in between assaults.
At the start of the full-scale invasion, he could not immediately go to the front due to a significant leg injury, but since April 2022, Vadym was back in the military. As part of Azov, he took part in battles in the Zaporizhzhia direction and the Kherson counteroffensive. He distinguished himself as a squad commander, and later a platoon commander of an assault company, during the battles for Bakhmut, Donetsk region. He died on November 24, 2022, during the assault on enemy positions.
Vadym Lysenkov’s brothers-in-arms attended the event. Yevhen Chudnetsov, an officer of the 12th Special Forces Brigade “Azov” of the National Guard of Ukraine, and a participant in the defense of Azovstal who endured captivity twice, remarked that brotherhood is a bond that is not broken even after death. He emphasized the need to realize that Heroes, unfortunately, die, yet they live on in our memories.
On July 8, 2023, by Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 406/2023, Vadym Lysenkov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine.
Iryna Prokopenko, the mother of the Hero of Ukraine Serhii Bozhko, met Oksana Lysenkova in 2023 at the ceremony where their deceased sons were presented with state awards—the Orders of the Gold Star. Iryna Mykolaivna, who now heads the veteran policy sector of the Varva settlement territorial community in the Chernihiv region, traveled to the event to be beside Oksana on this day. “Our hearts are now pieces of metal or stone, but they remain loving. We are proud of our sons; they gave their lives so that we could live, and so that Ukraine would continue to be a state. So, let us support each other!”
Vadym’s life and struggle were always guided by the motto “Life free of fear.” The memory of him will live on not only with his family and comrades but also in the hearts of the students who will be inspired by his example. Heroes live as long as we remember them, and as long as their deeds inspire us towards goodness, strength, and unity.
