Vitalii is a 19-year-old man from Kherson region. He was 15 when the full-scale invasion began. After the occupation, he initially tried to continue studying at a Ukrainian school, but later, under pressure, he was forced to transfer to the Russian education system, where he faced propaganda and militarization on a daily basis.

Vitalii maintained his pro-Ukrainian position and joined the Yellow Ribbon resistance movement. In April 2024, during a filtration procedure, Russian security forces found a photograph on his phone showing him burning a St. George ribbon. Vitalii was detained and interrogated, and an occupation court later charged him with “rehabilitation of Nazism” and sentenced him to a two-year suspended sentence.

Because of the conviction, Vitalii was unable to leave the occupied territory for a long time, but he continued looking for a way to return. In March 2026, with the support of volunteers, he left via Crimea, Russia, and Belarus and returned to Ukraine in March 2026.

Vitalii now lives in a social apartment in Kyiv and works. He is gradually building an independent life, and plans to continue his education in the future.