The case of Volodymyr Vakulenko

Ukrainian poet and writer Volodymyr Vakulenko was murdered after being kidnapped by Russian invaders. This became public on November 28, after DNA verification. His body was found in a grave in the Izium woods. According to the police, Russian occupiers shot the writer using a 9-mm Makarov pistol.

Volodymyr Vakulenko is Ukrainian writer, volunteer and civil society activist. He was born on July 1, 1972 in Kharkiv region. He is an author of 13 books, among which there are "Monoliteracy" (2008) "You Are… Not" (2011), "The Sun’s Family" (2011), "We, the Province!" (2013). His pen name is Volodymyr Vakulenko-K. His own genre, which contains elements of postmodernism, modernism, neo-classicism, and logical absurdism, Volodymyr defines as "contrliterature". Vakulenko is a winner of several Ukrainian and international literary prizes. His works have been translated into English, German, Belarusian, Crimean Tatar, and Esperanto languages.

Volodymyr Vakulenko is also known for his civic activity. During the Revolution of Dignity Volodymyr was wounded in the Mariinsky Park in Kyiv while fighting against a titushky gang (mercenary agents who supported the Ukrainian police force during the administration of Viktor Yanukovych). Vakulenko has been volunteering for the Ukrainian army since 2015.

Volodymyr Vakulenko was kidnapped by Russian occupiers on March 24. The occupiers shoved him into the bus marked with a Z-sign and took off in the direction of Izium. None of Vakulenko’s relatives had seen him or heard from him since. Before the detention Volodymyr Vakulenko decided to bury his war diary under a cherry tree in the garden, fully aware that the occupiers will come after him. After the de-occupation of Izium, Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina found the diary together with Volodymyr’s father on September 24, 2022. She passed the original records for keeping in the Kharkiv Literary Museum. Volodymyr Vakulenko’s book ‘I Am Transforming… A Diary of Occupation. Selected Poetry’ was published in 2023.

Vakulenko survived by his parents and a son diagnosed with autism.