Writer and lawyer Vasyl Palamarchuk dies on front line

During a combat mission in the Donetsk region, Ukrainian writer, lawyer, and serviceman Vasyl Palamarchuk, known by the call sign “Advocate,” was killed. 

Palamarchuk died in the New York area while retrieving the bodies of his fallen comrades.

In 2014-2015, Palamarchuk participated in the ATO as part of the 28th Mechanized Brigade. Until February 24, 2022, he successfully practiced law. At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he served as a reconnaissance machine gunner and later became the commander of a fire support company in the 206th Territorial Defense Battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Vasyl Palamarchuk, who celebrated his 43rd birthday on January 23, 2024, was the author of the book “Military Trash,” which chronicled his experiences serving in the ATO during 2014-2015. The book was shortlisted for the nationwide “Book of the Year” rating in 2020. In November 2023, the defender was awarded the honorary badge “Golden Cross” by the then Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

Soldier Serhii Antonov shares his memories of Vasyl Palamarchuk, his commander, writing: “He was also a brave warrior. If the generals set difficult tasks for our unit, he chose the best, led the battle group himself, and went to hell. Few of the officers do that. Many times he was the first to attack. Many times he dragged the dead bodies of his soldiers out of positions we had lost. So that the relatives of the dead could say goodbye to them. He was often lucky in battles. But not today.”

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Copy editing: Joy Tataryn, Terra Friedman King