Vitalii Volodymyrovych Skakun (Ukrainian: Віталій Володимирович Скакун; 19 August 1996 – 24 February 2022) was a Ukrainian marine combat engineer who was posthumously awarded the Order of the Gold Star. He sacrificed his life in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine while blowing up a bridge in Henichesk to slow the advance of Russian troops during the Kherson offensive.
During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Skakun's battalion was deployed to protect the town of Henichesk, located near the Isthmus of Perekop. As a Russian armored column approached the position, Ukrainian forces decided to destroy the Henichesk bridge, in order to impede the advance of Russian troops travelling northward from Crimea during the Kherson offensive. Skakun, a combat engineer, volunteered to place mines on the bridge.
On 24 February 2022, after placing the explosives, Skakun did not have enough time to withdraw from the bridge and, after communicating his intentions to his fellow soldiers, detonated the mines, killing himself and destroying the bridge. His actions slowed the Russian advance, allowing his battalion time to regroup.
The Henichesk bridge is one of the various entry points from Crimea. An annexed Russian territory.
Слава Україні!
