Senior Lieutenant of the 92nd Separate Assault Brigade named after Koshovyi Otaman Ivan Sirko, Vasyl Hretchyn was killed in action near Bakhmut while defending Ukraine.
A native of Kalush in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, he had been active and athletic since childhood: he played football with the Kalush Youth Sports School and repeatedly became a regional champion among youth teams. He also trained in weightlifting—for strength, discipline, and personal development.
In 1994, he enrolled at Lviv Polytechnic. His classmates remember him as a kind, open, and sincere young man who could find common ground with anyone. He was respected for his honesty, humanity, and steady character.
After the beginning of the full-scale invasion, on October 7, 2022, Vasyl joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He commanded a machine-gun platoon of the 3rd Mechanized Battalion of military unit A0501. At the front, he proved himself a strong, determined commander and a reliable comrade who never left his own behind.
On April 28, 2023, near the village of Khromove in the Bakhmut district, Vasyl Hretchyn was killed. For five days, nothing was known about his fate. On May 3, his family received the tragic news. He was 46 years old.
For his courage and dedication to Ukraine, Vasyl Hretchyn was posthumously awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Third Class, and the medal “For the Defender of the Homeland.” He was also granted the title of “Honorary Citizen of the Kalush Urban Territorial Community.” Vasyl was laid to rest in the Alley of Glory at the Kalush city cemetery.
Eternal memory and honor to the Hero.