Heroes Never Die: Vyacheslav Napovanets

"I am proud to have been the wife of such a man," says Tetyana Anatoliivna Napovanets. "Vyacheslav lived his life with dignity, and I always supported him."

Intent continues its series of articles about fallen defenders,“Heroes Never Die.”

Sergeant Vyacheslav Stepanovich Napovanets of the 188th Battalion, 123rd Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces, was killed during a rotation on October 28, 2024, in the Donetsk region. His wife, Tetyana Anatoliivna, his son Dmytro, his daughter Nataliia, and his comrade-in-arms Oleksandr Bondarenko shared stories about his life.

“We met in 1994, when I was still a student and Slava was already sailing the seas as a sailor,” recalls Tetyana Anatoliivna. “He was the first person to give me roses. While Vyacheslav was at sea, we corresponded for a year and a half. He always wrote so beautifully.

He seemed so mature to me. And very independent. His father died when he was only 8 years old—maybe that’s why. Slava had a large and very close-knit family. His mother held the title of “Honored Worker”; she worked as a tractor operator. She was a “golden” woman—I never called her my mother-in-law, only “Slava’s mom.”

Slava proposed to me, and we got married in June. When I was just 19, our daughter Natalia was born. And four years later—our son Dmytro. In 2023, each of our children gave us a grandchild.

PHOTO provided by the interviewees

“We look alike—we’re almost the same type. So when friends saw Slava, they’d say the kids looked like him. And when they saw me, they’d say they looked like me. Even though we all have different personalities.”

“I’m my dad’s daughter,” says Natalia Napovanets. “And I look more like him. For me, Dad’s most memorable phrase is ‘Everything will be okay.’ He always approached life with a smile. And he always looked for the good in people. And he knew how to find it.”

PHOTO provided by the interviewees

“Slava did his mandatory military service in the navy, in Crimea,” continues Tetyana Anatoliivna. “And he also worked for a while in a paramilitary security unit.

He was always offered leadership positions, but he avoided them; he wanted to be among the people. It wasn’t until he was in the military that Slava didn’t refuse when he was offered the position of platoon commander.”

“We’ve been friends since 1994,” says Lieutenant Oleksandr Bondarenko, who currently serves as an officer in the department for the development of unmanned maritime systems. “I was a graduate student back then, and we worked together in the paramilitary security force.”

PHOTO provided by the interviewees

We met the day after the full-scale invasion began—on February 25. At that time, the 188th Battalion of the 123rd Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces was being formed. We decided to stick together and support one another.

Slava was a platoon sergeant, but he didn’t shy away from any kind of work. When necessary, he dug trenches alongside all the other soldiers. During the year we were in the same platoon, I saw that he approached every task with a sense of responsibility.

PHOTO provided by interviewees

When they were transferred from the Kherson region to the Vuhledar sector, Slava had already suffered a concussion. He could have been reassigned to rear units. But for him, defending his country came first.”

“On September 15, 2024, Slava came to visit us in Gdańsk while on leave,” continues Tetiana Napovanets. “It was close to his birthday. Our daughter Natalia gave him his favorite cologne—“Opium.” It had already been discontinued, and it was very hard to find. And our son Dmytro gave him a carved backgammon set featuring an image of the hetman and Ukrainian symbols. Slava really loved that board game; he was a huge fan of it. He sat down with his son, and they played their first game.

PHOTO provided by interviewees

A year before that, in 2023, Slava bought a house for us. It was our dream. Now I’m finishing building it in memory of my husband.

On October 1, Slava and his comrades took up their positions. On October 27, we spoke for the last time. The next day, they were scheduled to rotate out. The guys told me later that the group was just 40 meters from the evacuation point when they came under fire. The company medic, Gennadiy, bandaged his leg. But then the shelling resumed. His body was returned to us in January 2025.

PHOTO provided by interviewees

“I’m proud of my husband; he walked his path as a warrior to the very end.”

“I’m proud of my dad,” says Dmytro Napovanets. “He used to say that everyone will leave this world eventually. But it’s important to do so with dignity. I saw how he treated his comrades. For their sake, he would sacrifice his own rest or peace of mind. He saw many things in the military, but he always remained true to his oath. He left this life as a true man.” 

Антон Терехов