Volodymyr Vakulenko

Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Vakulenko (, ; 1 July 1972 – between 24 March and 12 May 2022) was a Ukrainian poet, children's writer, and Wikipedian, who was also involved in volunteer work and activism. He was murdered during the Russian occupation of the Kharkiv area in Ukraine in 2022. He was a recipient of the Oles Ulianenko International Literary Award and laureate of the Competition.

Biography

Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Vakulenko was born on 1 July 1972 in the village of Kapytolivka, Izium Raion, Kharkiv. From 1979 to 1987, he studied at Kapitolivka Secondary School, and from 1987 to 1989 at Chervonooskilska Secondary School. In 1989–1990, he studied at Izium Vocational School No. 24, majoring to be a pastry chef. He officially started working in 1990, first as a kitchen worker, then acquired various specialties from being a trucker to an apartment repairman (20 years of experience on various bases). From January 1991 to August 1992, he served in the Soviet army, where he received a disability and was discharged shortly before his demobilization. He was divorced and has two sons from his first and second marriages, Vladyslav and Vitalii.

He had started writing in his childhood, and since 2001 has been published in Izium, Kostiantyniv, Donetsk region, Lviv, Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Rivne, Ternopil, Vinnytsia, Zakarpattia, Kramatorsk, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kharkiv press.

From 2003 to 2006, he was a member of the Izium literary association Kremianets, and in 2005 he was a member of the Konstantynivka literary association Prometheus. In 2005-2006, he was the deputy head of the Kremianets literary association in Izium, where he was the editor-in-chief of the Krynytsia children's and teenagers' newspaper. The author appeared online in late 2005.

He prepared for publication and published the almanac "Raisin Mountain" (2007), where his works were also published. Coordinator of the Gothic project and presenter of the presentation of the magazine "Thursday number 30" (theme "Gothic"). January-July 2009 - editor-in-chief of the translation magazine "DzeRkaLo" (published on 2 July).

Correspondent of the magazine "Artistic Facets" (2009). He was a coordinator and compiler of several journals and anthologies. Furthermore, he was a co-organizer of published literary projects. He has been published in anthologies, anthologies, and magazines. His works have been translated into Crimean Tatar, Belarusian, German, English, Esperanto, and Russian.

Abduction and murder On 22 March 2022, Vakulenko and his autistic 13-year-old son Vitaliy were arrested by Russian troops in Kapytolivka, a Ukrainian village near the town of Izium. Vakulenko was reburied in December 2022 in Kharkiv.

Vakulenko is survived by his parents and his sons, Vladyslav and Vitaliy. In 2023, the killers of Vakulenko were allegedly identified as the soldiers Vladyslav Neskorodiev (commander) and S. Udodenko (executor) serving in the armed forces of the Luhansk People's Republic.

Awards Hero of Ukraine (1 October 2025, posthumously) Order of Merit, 3rd class (22 January 2024, posthumously)

Tribute On 22 May 2023, the International Publishers Association posthumously awarded Vakulenko with the Prix Voltaire Special Award 2023.