The memorial plaque was unveiled on 28 August in the 22nd building, which houses the Educational and Research Institute of Energy Saving and Energy Management. It perpetuates the memory of Volodymyr Onufrienko, a graduate of this institute, who died in the battles against the Nazis at the end of December 2023.
He went to the territorial recruitment centre of the Armed Forces of Ukraine without waiting for a call-up on 24 February 2024, the first day of the full-scale war that Russia unleashed against Ukraine. He began fighting in the territorial defence of Kyiv, and later in the Special Operations Forces. He took part in the defence of Kyiv region, then the south of our country, and later, after the unit was reorganised, he took part in battles against the invaders in eastern Ukraine as part of the glorious 67th Separate Mechanised Brigade. He fought in Kharkiv region, Bakhmut, Lyman - the names of these settlements, which became the centres of bloody confrontations with the enemy, speak for themselves.
‘The unveiling of the memorial plaque to the hero is an extraordinary event in the life of the university, but, unfortunately, not the first. The people who went to defend our country in February 2024 at the call of their hearts and consciences are people of a special kind. These are people who understood and understand that defending their country and protecting their families is the duty of a citizen, a husband, a father,’ said the rector of the university, Anatolii Melnychenko, ’These heroes stopped and continue to stop the enemy and prevent him from carrying out his plans... I am convinced that the plaques we are installing to the heroes are not only their honour and our memory. They also have a powerful educational effect: passing by the portraits of our heroes, students and teachers should think about the price of our future victory.’
His former teachers, friends, university staff and parents came to honour the hero's memory. So the minutes of laying flowers under his portrait were extremely touching. And then, after the speeches and tears, there was a moment of silence...