Participant of the regional contest "Young Person of the Year – 2025" in the nomination "Law Enforcement Defender" Kostiantyn Tunytskyi
In 2018, Kostiantyn Tunytskyi began his career as a police precinct officer's assistant and later became a community police officer in the city of Hirnyk, where he stayed with the people until the occupation. He is credited with solving numerous crimes and identifying collaborators. After the occupation of Hirnyk, Kostiantyn joined the special unit "White Angels," where he actively participates in evacuating people from combat zones to safer regions of Ukraine, delivering humanitarian aid, and clearing destroyed buildings.
His dedication to the cause has not gone unnoticed. Kostiantyn has been awarded the "Badge of Honor" by the National Police of Ukraine, the "Silver Cross" honorary badge by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the "Luhansk" Operational and Tactical Group Commander's award, and the "Defenders of the East" medal. However, service on the front line involves constant risk: while evacuating the seriously wounded from Pokrovsk, Kostiantyn himself was injured by an enemy drone.
In Kostiantyn's own words, "serving in the police gives me the opportunity to do as many good deeds as possible." This motivation drives him to the people who need help the most.
In February 2025, he and volunteers from the "Chaplain Patrol" organization went to Pokrovsk to check on a family reported to be hiding two sons in a basement. After a long time convincing the family of the need to evacuate, Kostiantyn heard from one of the boys that he had not been outside for a long time and that all his friends had already left the city. During an enemy shelling, the children were very frightened, and their mother agreed to evacuate. The father, however, stayed behind to prepare his elderly mother for departure. Kostiantyn left his phone number, and two nights later, the father called, pleading for help. Thanks to Kostiantyn, the family was reunited in a safe place.
In May 2025, during an evacuation in Pokrovsk, a serviceman approached Kostiantyn, informing him about two women and a grandfather with limited mobility who were refusing to leave their damaged home. Kostiantyn personally went up to the seventh floor, but he was unable to persuade the man. Three days later, he returned with his colleagues. This time, the grandfather knelt down and, with tears in his eyes, said he had been praying for three days for them to return, as they had endured terrible shelling and had no way to call for evacuation due to a lack of mobile connection and internet. The women warmly embraced their rescuers, and the entire family was successfully evacuated to a safe region of Ukraine.
In May 2025, Kostiantyn, as part of the "White Angels" evacuation group and the "Chaplain Patrol," rescued a 68-year-old grandmother who had spent 15 days completely alone under constant shelling in a destroyed private sector of Pokrovsk. Following a leg surgery, the woman was unable to move on her own. When the evacuation group arrived, she showed a sign of life by knocking on a window. The exhausted and debilitated grandmother was found in a critical condition in the cold house. She was given the necessary aid, and her evacuation was organized. Before leaving, she modestly asked for a bun, a banana, and some tea, and her request was fulfilled.
Kostiantyn says that the most difficult part of his work is witnessing the grief of people who have lost loved ones or homes. His dream, like that of every Ukrainian, is a swift victory and for no one ever to have to endure the terrible tragedy of war again.