Yevhen "Ostap" Ostapenko was a fan of Dynamo Kyiv football club and a representative of the White Boys Club movement.

Yevhen Oleksandrovych Ostapenko was born on August 4, 1994, in Kyiv. He attended the capital's Lyceum No. 33. From a young age, he was a well-rounded individual who practiced boxing while also being skilled at playing the cello and guitar.

He began supporting Dynamo from the fan section in the second half of the 2000s. His family recalls that what attracted Yevhen to the fan movement was not so much the football itself, but the life surrounding it—the cohesion of people united by a common idea. For him, being a fan meant not watching from the sidelines, but being part of the action. He used to say that fanaticism is also very much about loyalty: not loving the team only when it wins, and not turning your back when it loses. Your own people don't stop being your own just because of a bad season. Zhenya treated people the same way—if you were one of his, he wouldn't turn away from you because of mistakes you admitted to. And, of course, for him, Dynamo was also about Kyiv—a part of his city, his home, his youth, and his own history.

His path of fighting for a free Ukraine began during the Revolution of Dignity; he was an active participant in the clashes on the Maidan, often skipping classes to be there. During one skirmish, his jacket caught fire. Fortunately, people nearby managed to put it out quickly. He also spoke about how his parents collected all the jackets and blankets they could to bring to the people. Overall, he was deeply inspired by how people rallied and stood up for themselves.

After making his decision and packing a small backpack, the 19-year-old told his parents in May 2014 that he was going for a walk. He only called them once he was on board an IL-76, informing them he was flying to Mariupol. He joined the OUN Battalion—one of the first volunteer formations—and deployed to the Donbas. He also served with the Aidar and Carpathian Sich battalions. During the years of the ATO/JFO, he participated in battles for Mariupol, Pisky, Shchastia, and the Donetsk Airport. He sustained his first injury during fighting near the village of Metalist in the Luhansk region.

Yevhen met his future wife, Iryna, at the end of 2020. They were married in the summer of 2022.

In 2019, he enrolled in the Faculty of Law at the National Aviation University in Kyiv, where he earned a master's degree in Law.

Before the war, Yevhen worked as a lawyer, but after the full-scale invasion, he decided to become a psychologist. He understood how deeply war affects a person and how important it is to receive help, especially from someone who has seen the same things you have. He even enrolled in the International European University to study psychology, balancing his studies with the war. Unfortunately, he only managed to complete two years.

He loved animals and always tried to take in strays, keeping treats with him at all times. In general, Yevhen had a special, unconditional love for the world; he never took things for granted and treated everything around him with great respect.

From the beginning of the full-scale war, he participated in the liberation of the Kharkiv region and defended Kherson, Vovchansk, and the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions. He was a soldier in the 423rd Separate Battalion of Unmanned Systems, the "Scythian Griffins."

For him, war never meant the loss of freedom. On the contrary, defending his values was the highest expression of freedom.

"He was made for war"—that is what people often say about Zhenya. But in reality, he made himself for war because he could not stand aside. His principles were to protect what he loved. He knew what awaited him, yet he never looked for reasons or excuses as to why he should be the one to fight. A week before his death, Yevhen was awarded the Order for Courage, 3rd Class.

Yevhen Ostapenko died on September 8, 2025, while performing a combat mission near the village of Novoivanivka in the Zaporizhzhia region. He is buried at the National Military Memorial Cemetery. He was posthumously awarded the Combatant Cross, the Honor and Memory badge, and the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine's Ground Forces Cross award.

Eternal honor to the Hero!

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