UKRAINE, KOSTIANTYNIVKA, Dec. 25 — On Dec. 24, Russian forces attacked a car of an evacuation volunteer team with an FPV drone, killing Viacheslav Ilchenko, a Kharkiv volunteer and founder of “Nezlamna” (“Unbreakable”) charity, said the “Rose on the Hand” evacuation team to Gwara Media.

At 7:40 a.m., a Russian FPV drone with fiber optics hit the car of volunteers. The attack also injured two members of the evacuation team, said Yevhen Koliada, the head of the Relief Coordinating Centre to Suspilne Ukraine.

“The charity sector is currently cooperating with all services involved. Viacheslav’s body has already been taken away, and we are moving forward in keeping with all procedural norms,” Kolyada said.

Kolyada said that Ilchenko was insured by their organization, and they had already provided the information to the insurance company, and his family would be paid the full amount.

Also, Daryna Marynenko, the founder of the volunteer organization “Plus Plus,” said that Viacheslav is survived by his wife and two daughters. Volunteers are raising funds to help the family.

Since 2022, Viacheslav Ilchenko has been involved in evacuating people from the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions. 

In October 2024, Gwara Media joined volunteers from the “Nezlamna” charity on an evacuation mission to the left bank of the Oskil River and spoke with people deciding whether to leave or stay amidst frequent Russian attacks. We followed his other evacuation missions as well. 

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