At home, Viktor Skorodenko was awaited by his wife, his newborn daughter, his son, and hundreds of his students at school. He died defending Ukraine from Russian invaders.
Born on October 12, 1968, in the village of Velyka Bahachka, Poltava region, Viktor graduated from the local school and went on to study at the Kharkiv State Pedagogical Institute named after Hryhorii Skovoroda. From 1987 to 1989, he served in the military, and from 1991 until the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he worked as a physical education teacher at his alma mater.
Since childhood, Viktor had a passion for sports. He was the best player on his local football team “Start” and the top athlete in the district. He competed in regional and national competitions. His love for sports continued into adulthood, and he dedicated over 30 years to working with children.
Viktor Andriyovych was a teacher of the highest category, an award-winning coach at the local youth sports school, a multiple winner of district and regional “Teacher of the Year” competitions. But most importantly, his students’ successes spoke volumes. His pupils won awards in district-level competitions and stood on podiums in the regional children’s football league. Even decades after graduating, his former students—now adults—remember Viktor with warmth, recalling his lessons, physical education standards, and his remarkable humanity. He was a teacher who respected every child, had a sharp sense of humor, was modern, and most importantly, was genuine. The values he instilled in the hearts of his young students are now being passed on to the next generation, for whose future he stood to defend Ukraine.
In peaceful times before the war, Viktor was active in public life: he was a village council deputy and a member of the “Psyol” dance group. So, when the invaders stepped onto Ukrainian soil, he simply couldn’t remain idle. In the early days of the invasion, he volunteered for territorial defense and later went to the front.
On January 21, 2023, while performing a combat mission in Donetsk near the destroyed town of Soledar, 54-year-old Viktor Skorodenko was killed. He is survived by his wife, his newborn daughter, and his son…
His hometown bid farewell to their Hero and Teacher with the sound of the school bell, and as the defender had requested, his favorite song, written and performed by his son, played in the background.
A memorial plaque in his honor was placed on the school where Viktor had both studied and worked for 32 years. On February 28, 2024, a volleyball tournament in memory of Viktor Skorodenko, a great teacher who gave his life so his students could grow and learn in their homeland, was held in the school gym.