Biography

Vitaliy joined the Youth Nationalist Congress from its inception and actively helped build the organization in his native Transcarpathia from 2001 to 2007, and subsequently supported it with resources. A participant in the Orange Revolution, the Revolution of Dignity, and the ATO; a volunteer; a deputy of the 6th convocation of the Tyachiv District Council; and a member of the NGO «Yednist.» A man of unbreakable spirit, with selfless and boundless love for Ukraine.

On the first day of the full-scale war, Vitalii became a volunteer with the «Carpathian Sich» Territorial Defense Unit. Later, he served as a soldier in the 49th Separate Rifle Battalion «Carpathian Sich» as part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He was killed on October 1, 2022, near the village of Terny in Donetsk Oblast while carrying out a combat mission, as a result of an enemy airstrike. He was awarded the «Mykhailo Kolodzinsky» Medal and the «Carpathian Sich» Cross, as well as the Order «For Courage» III degree (posthumously).

«Vitalii embodies the quintessence of all the qualities of a Ukrainian nationalist. Serious, determined, focused on carrying out any task. From the very first days of the war in 2014, he mobilized and strove to be on the front lines defending the Ukrainian state,» — Oleg Medunytsia’s recollections of Vitalii Benchak.