Valentina Kononenko was 75 years old. She was born on October 15, 1950, in the Donetsk region. She worked at a rebar and insulator factory. She lived in Bilbasivka, near Sloviansk. She loved her homeland, tended to her flowers, cared for her garden, and was the guardian of her family, according to those who knew her.
On July 24, 2026, Valentina Kononenko was killed in a Russian airstrike on Sloviansk. That day, she had gone into town with her family to run some errands. The car was traveling along Vokzalna Street when a Russian aerial bomb exploded nearby. Valentina sustained severe injuries, from which she died in the hospital. Her 50-year-old daughter, Olga Naidenko, was also killed in the attack. Her son-in-law and granddaughter were injured.
Valentina Kononenko was buried in Bilbasivka. She is survived by her son.
At 9:00 a.m.—a nationwide minute of silence. The Donetsk Regional Military Administration and the Memorial platform: those killed by Russia commemorate the residents of the Donetsk region killed by Russians.