It will be very difficult for me to tell you about my brother, but I will try.
It was a great honor, luck, and pride of me to have Volodya in my life! Volodya was a very unique kid, he learned how to speak and read very early. At the age of five, Volodya was able to read and proclaim poems. He was five and a half years older than me and a few people know but he named me because he read about King of Kyiv - Svyatoslav The Brave in the book about the history of Ukraine and convinced my parents that he wants a younger brother like that.
He was known and loved by everyone! Volodya attracted people with his openness, erudition, and knowledge in the various fields! I met many smart people, but no one could tell me more about African dictators, British prime ministers, or US presidents more than my brother. His ability to remember a huge number of events, facts and dates was out of this world. Volodya read a lot...
Volodya was a Candidate of Political Science (Ukrainian version of Ph.D.) and defended his thesis in “Features of Implementation of NATO's Contemporary Strategic Concept”. I was in his defense and he nailed it! Volodya was a real rockstar of his department and often met with alumni and kept in contact with his advisor. He also told me a lot of funny stories about Associate Professor Matsyakh or just what he called him - Uncle Misha.
Volodya was a great leader and always took care of our whole family. He never let me close the bill and always paid for all my expenses whenever I was coming over. When our father died, Volodya forbade everyone to tell me about this tragedy. Volodya cared about me and did not want me to fly in, before my graduation. My father would not like that either. But I got to know about it…. Don't worry! I did not disclose anyone. But he was looking closely for informants, till his last days!
He had seen the world! He has visited the Middle East and many European countries. He really liked Georgia! He had many friends all over the world. And I hope they will remain friends of our family and will cherish the bright memory of my brother. And will spread the word about the real Ukrainians, like my brother.
He worked at Red Cross and People in Need and helped local people survive the grief of the war! He told that during his work he came under artillery fire and almost fell victim to the arbitrary actions of people shocked by the war. Volodya did not do a simple job, his work required high concentration and considerable efforts! His colleagues can tell more about this than me.
Volodya lived in Sloviansk for almost five years and became a local out there! In the East of Ukraine, he found his beloved woman Anya and we were all very happy for him. He made many friends from eastern Ukraine. He even said he was feeling like a"Sloviansk guy". Volodya's example shows that it doesn't matter from which part of Ukraine you are from or what language do you speak - you will always be accepted everywhere you go if you are a decent person.
Volodya had a lot to offer to this world and make it better! He planned to represent the interests of our country in the UN and later in the EU and he would surely do well with that. But life is not fair, for justice, we must fight...
My brother loved rock music and football (he was a fan of Liverpool and Dynamo Kyiv). We often played FIFA or PES listening to Radio Rocks! He recently told me that he had met Dario Sirna (former captain of Shaktar Donetsk) at the airport and I asked “So! Did you take a selfy with him? "He answered, " I would never take a picture with a mole!" He did not like Shakhtar!
Such was, is and will be for me, my brother! Volodymyr will always be with me in my thoughts, memories and his advice and guidance will always be in my head when I will be making important decisions.