Vasyl Shkvark, a senior soldier with the State Special Transport Service, known to his comrades by the call sign «Grizzly», was killed on 19 August 2023 during an evacuation following a firefight near Urozhayne in the Donetsk region. Ukrinform, the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance and ArmyInform have reported on his life and the memories of his family.
Briefly about the main points
- Vasyl Shkvark voluntarily joined the State Special Transport Service after the outbreak of the full-scale war.
- From May 2023, he served as a machine-gunner in a combat unit.
- In August 2023, a soldier was wounded whilst clearing a landing zone near Urozhayne.
- Whilst evacuating on his own, Shkvark came under mortar fire.
- In September 2025, he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine.
From construction to service
Vasyl Shkvark He was born in the village of Honchariv in the Carpathian region. He was the third child in the family and had three sisters — Ivanna, Mariana and Nadiya. His mother, Lyudmyla, recalls that her son loved doing DIY at home, helped out with the livestock, was fascinated by the Carpathians, was a good swimmer and played football and volleyball with his sister.
After leaving school, Shkvarok studied at the Kolomyia Industrial and Pedagogical Vocational College, where he qualified as a bricklayer and plasterer. From a young age, he worked on building sites, taught himself to play the guitar, and collected coins and stamps. At the age of 18, having received his call-up papers, he went to serve in the army.
Fighting in the Donetsk region and the latest evacuation
From the beginning a full-scale war Vasyl voluntarily joined the State Special Transport Service. He initially served in the security forces, and on 29 May 2023 became a machine-gunner in a combat unit. He took part in fighting in the areas of Prechystivka, Blahodatne and Urozhayne in the Donetsk region.
According to a report from the 710th Separate Security Brigade of the State Special Transport Service, during one of the assaults, «Grizzly» eliminated ten Russian occupiers, fired a grenade launcher at an IFV, cleared an enemy dugout and repeatedly evacuated wounded comrades.
In August 2023, during the defence and liberation of Urozhayne, Shkvarok and his comrades set out to clear a landing zone that had been infiltrated by Russian troops. He sustained a gunshot wound during the firefight. Together with another wounded soldier, he set off on his own to be evacuated so as not to put his comrades in danger, but on the way he came under mortar fire and was killed.
Awards and family memories
Vasyl Shkvark died two weeks before his 30th birthday. He was buried in his home village of Honchariv; according to his family, his comrades-in-arms visit there every year. He is survived by his parents, three sisters and nephews.
Shkvarka was awarded the Order «For Courage», 3rd Class, and the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Council’s «Knight of the Combat Order» medal. On 30 September 2025, he was posthumously awarded the «Golden Star» and the title of Hero of Ukraine — for his personal courage and heroism in defending Ukraine’s state sovereignty and territorial integrity.
In the recollections of his mother and comrades-in-arms, he is described as a man who did not like to talk about his own combat experiences, and who tried to spend time with his loved ones whenever he was on leave. His sister Mariana wrote that Vasyl’s greatest motivation was his family, and his own words were: «I’m with the lads till the end.».
