1990–2022
Vitalii Hrytsaienko
Azov combat training officer
A law graduate and former police officer, he trained Azov’s fighters for battle. Senior Lieutenant Vitalii “Hohol” Hrytsaienko from Poltava defended Mariupol: he held the coast, mined the path of russian tanks and led a raid behind enemy lines. Hero of Ukraine (posthumously).
Key accomplishments
- Volunteer in the war in eastern Ukraine from 2014
- From 2019, deputy commander of the Azov unit for combat and special training
- Defended Mariupol in 2022: held the coast, mined the routes of russian tanks, led a raid behind enemy lines
- Hero of Ukraine (posthumously; Decree No. 201/2022)
A lawyer who taught others to fight
Vitalii Hrytsaienko held a master’s degree in law, not a military diploma. Born in Poltava in 1990, he graduated from the Kharkiv University of Internal Affairs in 2012 and worked in the police. When the war in eastern Ukraine began in 2014, he went to the front as a volunteer and earned his officer’s rank in combat. From 2019 he was Azov’s deputy commander for combat and special training: his job was to make sure the fighters were ready for battle. His call sign was Hohol (Gogol).
Mariupol, 2022
From the first days of the full-scale invasion, Hrytsaienko defended Mariupol with Azov, commanded by Denys Prokopenko. On 27 February, as russian warships shelled the coast near the city, his group covered the withdrawal of Ukrainian marines and held the shore for two days. On 1 March a column of russian tanks advanced on Mariupol. Azov drove it back, and three tanks were blown up on anti-tank mines Vitalii had laid on the flank in advance.
On the night of 18–19 March his group went on a raid behind enemy lines, destroyed a command post and blew up an ammunition depot. In that fight Vitalii was badly wounded. Senior Lieutenant Vitalii Hrytsaienko was killed in Mariupol on 19 March 2022. He was 31. On 2 April 2022 he was made a Hero of Ukraine posthumously, by the same decree as his fellow Azov officer Maksym Kahal.
Why it matters today
Vitalii Hrytsaienko trained Azov’s fighters for battle, and when the battle came to Mariupol he was at the front of it: on the coast, in the minefield, on the raid behind enemy lines. The mines he laid in advance stopped tanks heading for the city. His story shows how much preparation matters: what you learn today saves others tomorrow. In his home city of Poltava an avenue now bears his name.
