He personally captured the occupiers who came to kill on our land. The enemies feared him, but he feared none. While saving his comrades near Bakhmut, rugby player Volodymyr Yavorsky lost his life.
He was born on December 2, 1994, in Kyiv. While in fourth grade at a city school, he started playing rugby. This sport, as Volodymyr later said, left the deepest mark on his life. His uncle was acquainted with the coach of the Kyiv team “Antares,” where he took the boy. Thus began the sports career of the future defender, a journey that spanned over 15 years. Coming to the team as a young boy, he quickly integrated into the group. Coach Vitaliy Yevheniyovych Roganov recalls that Volodymyr stood out for his physical attributes and, as his teammates put it, within just a few weeks of training, he was indistinguishable from those who had been playing for much longer. He was a very disciplined athlete. In addition to team training, he worked out on his own. For his straightforwardness, uncompromising nature, openness, and directness, he was nicknamed “Kamaz” in the club. This would later become his call sign in the army.
Over the years with “Antares,” Volodymyr repeatedly ascended the podium in various competitions. Together with the team, they won the Kyiv Rugby-15 Championship twice, as well as the Kyiv Super Cup. In 2014 and 2016, they won the Ukrainian Rugby-15 Championship among top league teams, and in 2017, they secured bronze in the national Super League, which was their greatest achievement.
Education or work never interfered with his training. After school, Volodymyr graduated from the Kyiv Military Lyceum and tried to enter a military university, but was unsuccessful due to failing the psychological test. They told him he was too hyperactive, but as the war proved, it was precisely such young men who were needed by the army. Undeterred, Volodymyr went on to pursue higher education at the State University of Information and Communication Technologies, formerly known as the State University of Telecommunications. He worked various jobs and, as friends say, he was always searching for himself. It seems he truly found himself after the full-scale invasion.
The concept of despair or sorrow was foreign to Volodymyr. He never displayed his bad mood, but those who knew him well could see it in his eyes. He never allowed himself to dwell in sadness for long. No matter what happened, he always continued his journey through life with a smile – this is how his friends will forever remember him.
Until the very last day before the full-scale invasion, they gathered as a team to play their beloved rugby. It was supposed to continue, but everything was shattered by the war. After the invasion began, Volodymyr joined the Territorial Defense Forces. He wanted to be useful to society, defend the country, and protect his family. Eventually, he joined the “Arthan” special forces unit of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
He carried out tasks at the edge of human endurance, across the entire front line, never backing down from difficulties, even when he found himself in the heart of hell. Coach Vitaliy Yevheniyovych recalls that he was a person of extraordinary willpower. He also had no secrets from those dear and close to him, let alone any “skeletons in the closet.” He shared, consulted, and helped whenever someone needed it.
Friends say that from time to time, Volodymyr would send videos from the front. He showed the conditions in which they sometimes had to sleep, just to bring our victory closer. Rain, a real downpour, a half-destroyed house with a few dry spots inside because the roof was almost gone. But this did not affect the soldiers’ mood. There was little that could dishearten them in war, when the best are falling every day from enemy bullets.
During his service, Kamaz was wounded and concussed, returning for rehabilitation. But everyone who saw him during those brief periods says that there was no sorrow in his eyes, nor any thought of not returning from the war. He disliked staying on sick leave; he wanted to get back to his comrades as soon as possible.
The commander of the “Arthan” special forces unit, with the call sign “Titan,” told the story of how the guys were taming horses. They took them to the training ground so that the animals wouldn’t be afraid of the sounds of gunfire and explosions. Kamaz decided to bond with one of the horses. He led it next to him while the guys practiced shooting. The horse, startled by the sounds, broke free and bit Volodymyr’s arm. But it wasn’t just a bite – it bit off three of his fingers. In the end, the guys released the horse, and fortunately, Kamaz’s fingers were reattached. Of course, rehabilitation was needed at first, but he wasted no time and began learning to shoot with his uninjured left hand. If you were to describe Volodymyr in one word, everyone would say “Warrior.”
The last time he saw his coach, whom he considered his older friend, was during a leave. They met in a botanical garden, took a walk, and had tea at the coach’s home. As it turned out later, this was their final meeting, their goodbye. Friends kept in touch with him through social media, but communication at the front is a true luxury. It is often difficult to get through to someone, and waiting for a reply is even harder. A teammate, Yuriy, wrote to him once, but received no response that day or in the following days. The silence alarmed many, and everyone began searching for Volodymyr. Fortunately, everything was fine with him, and as soon as he could, he replied that he was alive.
The day before the tragedy, Yuriy wrote to him again, but once again, unfortunately, there was no response. There would be no more online activity under the name Volodymyr, and the message would remain forever unread. Though, probably not just one.
On May 30, 2024, on one of the hottest fronts in Chasiv Yar, Donetsk region, while saving an injured comrade, 29-year-old Volodymyr Yavorsky was killed. During the evacuation, an artillery shell hit him, and sadly, one of the shrapnels struck under his helmet…
This is an immense loss for the unit and an irreparable wound, a true tragedy for his parents, for whom Volodymyr was their only son…
On June 8, the Hero was laid to rest. Hundreds of people came to say their final goodbye at the Volodymyr Cathedral in Kyiv. He was buried at the Lukianivske Cemetery in the capital.
The war abruptly and instantly cut short his young life, taking Volodymyr away from those closest to him. He had so much more to do, but he didn’t make it. Yet his dreams will live on, decided his friends. They plan to open the café he always dreamed of and name it “VovKam” (Vova Kamaz). They also plan to organize a free rugby section for children so that they, just like him, can fall in love with the sport instantaneously and irrevocably. They invite anyone who wants to join the initiative, for Volodymyr gave his life for Ukraine and for each of us…