Press officer with Ukraine's Borysfen Brigade killed in Kherson

Volodymyr Obertas, a press officer with the Borysfen Brigade, has been killed in Kherson. He was a native of Oleshky, a city currently occupied by Russian forces.

Source: Army TV, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry's media outlet; Dmytro Voronov, former mayor of Oleshky

Details: Volodymyr died when Russian forces remotely detonated an explosive device. He was helping journalists work that day.

In civilian life, Volodymyr was a well-known photographer and videographer. He worked at celebrations in kindergartens and schools, weddings and city events.

Quote from Voronov: "Almost everyone in Oleshky probably knew him, because it would have been hard to find a better photographer and videographer. He worked in my press centre and was always cheerful and friendly. A true master of his craft, he even taught me the basics of video editing and much more.

Volodymyr and I often discussed which camera angles to use and where to add cutaways and emphasis to make a video more emotional and really move the viewer [...] People eagerly awaited each new masterpiece by Obertas on YouTube."

Details: Volodymyr had been involved in defending Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. Ukrainian serviceman Oleksandr Tsehelnyk said that on the very first day of the full-scale war, Volodymyr helped defenders hide their weapons and evacuated them, paving the way for their subsequent withdrawal from the left bank of the Dnipro River to the right bank.

In the military, Volodymyr operated drones before joining the press service of the 34th Separate Marine Brigade (also known as Borysfen). He helped report on events at the front line and accompanied journalists to frontline hotspots.

Background: Earlier, 21-year-old student and serviceman Oleksandr "Silhouette" Chyzhov from Kyiv Oblast was killed in action.

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