“KARAKURT”

Valerii Chybinnieiev was born on 3 March 1988 in Berdiansk. He lost his parents early, so he was raised in a boarding school. After finishing the 9th grade, he entered the Zaporizhzhia Military Lyceum “Zakhysnyk”. He then enrolled in the Military Academy of the Ground Forces (Odesa), from where he was transferred to the Lviv National Army Academy named after Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi, graduating in 2010. With the rank of lieutenant, he continued his military service as part of the 79th Air Assault Brigade. From the first days of Russian aggression, Valerii Chybinnieiev stood up to defend the territorial integrity and independence of the Fatherland. Serving in the 1st Airmobile Assault Battalion, he took part in the liberation of the city of Lyman in Donetsk Oblast. He was killed on 3 March 2022. On 5 March, it was reported that Valerii was killed in the battles for Hostomel near Kyiv. That day, the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (HUR) reported that Valerii died while carrying out a special mission as a разведник. In 2023–2024, testimony was published from an unnamed HUR officer with the call sign “Filosof”, who also took part in the battle. According to this account, on 2 March Valerii Chybinnieiev’s group received a mission to provide sniper cover for the actions of a consolidated unit in Hostomel and entered the town. On 3 March, after Russian artillery shelling, three armored vehicles approached with Russian troops who began to dismount. Valerii fired at them with a large-caliber Barrett M107 sniper rifle. A second assault then began, involving nine Russian BMD vehicles. According to “Filosof”, all the Russian BMDs that were stopped at the checkpoint in Hostomel had penetrations from Valerii’s sniper rifle. When Valerii ran out of ammunition, he engaged in close combat. At around 3 p.m., the commander of another combat group reported Valerii’s death. Three years earlier, in 2019, his brother, serviceman Roman Chybinnieiev, was killed in Donetsk region. On 11 March 2022, Valerii Chybinnieiev was laid to rest at Berkovetske Cemetery. He is survived by his wife and young daughter.