Football coach Vasyl Smoliievskyi was killed in Zaporizhzhia region.
He was born on 13 May 1987. He was fond of football and played for various teams. He studied at the Football Department of the National University of Physical Education and Sports of Ukraine. During the peaceful pre-war period, Vasyl worked as a football coach at the Boryspil Children’s and Youth Sports School. He started a family and became a father – he had a daughter.
But the occupiers did not allow him to live in peace in his country with his family. After the start of the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, he voluntarily joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He consciously chose the difficult path of a defender. Vasyl served as a grenade launcher operator. During his service, he suffered concussions several times, but each time he returned to the very heart of the battle to destroy the enemy.
But on 31 August 2023, 36-year-old Vasyl Smoliievskyi was killed in a mortar battle in Zaporizhzhia…
At home, the Hero’s mother, wife and daughter were waiting for him… In May 2024, Vasyl Smoliievsky was awarded the Order ‘For Courage’, III class (posthumously) for his personal courage in defending the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.