Here is the English translation:
Lieutenant Colonel Omelian Badulin was killed on January 24, 2024, in Russia’s Belgorod region. He was supposed to return home together with other Ukrainian prisoners of war aboard an Il-76 aircraft, but the plane was shot down over Russian territory. The defender was forever 41 years old.
Omelian was born on September 2, 1982, in the city of Bakhmut. Like his older brother and sister, he graduated from the Kharkiv Institute of Tank Troops. After receiving his diploma, he joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served in Bakhmut, Kostiantynivka, and Pokrovsk.
“He was an incredibly kind, cheerful, and responsible person. He always came to help others, no matter how difficult things were for him personally. He never left anyone in trouble. He was a wonderful father and a wonderful husband. The best in the world. More than anything, he loved fishing — whenever he had the chance, he could go away for a day or two,” his wife Oksana recalled.
A few months before the start of the full-scale invasion, he was transferred to Mariupol, where the 109th Separate Territorial Defense Brigade was being formed. Omelian served as deputy brigade commander. He defended the Azovstal steel plant. On May 17, 2022, following orders from Ukraine’s senior military command, he entered Russian captivity together with his comrades.
“On February 2, 2022, my husband left home for service in Mariupol and never returned. I received a message from an unfamiliar number: Omelian wrote that he was alive and well, but there would be no further communication. Later, I learned from a list posted on social media that he was in captivity,” Oksana said.
Omelian was held in the Olenivka prison colony and was later transferred to the territory of the Russian Federation.
“After the terrorist attack carried out by the occupiers in the Olenivka prison colony, we did not know whether he was alive or not. Then, in April 2023, he was allowed to call me. Omelian said he was doing well. Most of all, he asked about us: how the children were doing and whether we were safe. The conversation lasted no more than a minute,” Oksana shared.
Throughout his military service, the warrior was awarded numerous medals and distinctions. However, all of them remained in Bakhmut.
The defender was laid to rest in August 2025 at the Alley of Glory of Krasnopillia Cemetery in the city of Dnipro.
He is survived by his wife, son, daughter, brother, and sister.
At 9:00 a.m., a nationwide minute of silence is observed. Donetsk Regional Military Administration and the Memorial of Heroes platform honor the fallen defenders of Donetsk region.