Pavel “Viking” Panfilov is a representative of the team “Stanislaviv Division Firm” (Ivano-Frankivsk) and “Praetorian Guard” (CSKA, Kyiv).

Pavel Vladyslavovich Panfilov was born on December 27, 1995 in the city of Brody (Lviv region). He lived in Ivano-Frankivsk and studied at school No. 12, Natural and Mathematical Lyceum named after him. Puluyi, after which he continued his studies at the Olympic reserve school in Kiev. From an early age, sport was his main hobby and meaning of life. In 2003, he became a player of the children's football team “Prykarpattya” Ivano-Frankivsk.

At the age of 13, he began practicing oriental martial arts, choosing a style of karate — goji ryu, which combines elements of Chinese and Japanese martial arts. At the age of 16, Paul was invited to Kiev to study at the Olympic reserve school. The young man lived up to the hopes of coaches, almost always winning championships in karate, judo and jiu-jitsu. According to the memories of their relatives, they never doubted that it was he who would win the next competition, because it simply could not be otherwise.

At the age of 15, he joined the SDF football team, which quickly earned himself an authority among the teams of the West of the country. In the autumn of 2013, the rapprochement of the Ivano-Frankivsk team with the movement of the Kyiv CSKA began, as a result of which the SDF became part of the “Praetorian Guard”, where they found new friends and fan adventures. In 2014, Pavel already represented the metropolitan movement in the “forest”, and his first rival was the guys from the Odessa team “Young Hatred”.

Teammates remember Paul as a very active person, true to his life principles. For the sake of friends, he was always ready at any moment to gather and travel at least the whole country. At the same time, Paul continued to play sports. He won the Ukrainian MMA championship, and in 2018 (Odessa) and 2019 (Portugal) he won the title of champion at the Karate World Cup - gojo ryu.

In his free time from competitions, he liked to travel the Carpathians, was engaged in equestrian sports, read historical books, was interested in the period of the struggle of the OUN-UPA, the theory of Ukrainian nationalism. He had a small private business. Pasha had his own horse and began his journey in equestrian sport. He wanted to build his equestrian club and dreamed of conquering Everest at the age of 30.

At the beginning of March 2022, together with eight close friends, he arrived in Kiev and served in one of the metropolitan departments of the TRO. Realizing that the war would last for a long time, he joined the ranks of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces. In the summer of the same year he took part in the counteroffensive in Kharkiv region. He was the first to raise the crown of Ukraine over the de-occupied Izyum.

The next task of the “Viking” was Bakhmut, where fierce battles were already raging. The commander of the group as part of the SS unit “East”, together with the fighters entrusted to him, held a section of the front. While in Donetsk region, he informed his relatives that under any circumstances he would not surrender to captivity. The brothers say that Paul was a warrior with a capital letter who knew no fear.

It was he who raised morale in his group. Most of the brothers in arms felt more confident when Pasha was around. Holding his sector in Bakhmut, he could wage a gun battle for long hours and was not exhausted. The thirst for struggle did not leave him until the last minutes of his life.

After successfully completing the task, after leaving the city, Bakhmut was mortally wounded by an enemy drone. Pavel Panfilov died on the morning of February 23, 2023. He was buried on the Alley of Heroes in the village. Chukalivka in Ivano-Frankivsk region.

He was awarded the honorary badge of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine “Golden Cross”, awarded the Order “For Courage” III degree (posthumously).

And here neither tears nor despair are needed

And here you do not need crying and whining

Only one lives who does not live for himself.

Who, for others, chooses life.

Eternal glory to the Hero!

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