Ligamedia sales manager turned serviceman Vadym Pidlypenskyi was killed in combat on 25 October, Liga.net reports.
“Vadym joined Ligamedia in 2015 and immediately became a core member of the team. Not because he had to, but because that’s how he was: open and sincere. Working with him was easy. You wanted to work with him, laugh, have coffees, talk about everything in the world. A professional in his field, knew how to find a common language with anyone,” the team said.
Vadym enlisted in the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 2024 and took the call sign “Rammstein”: the German band Rammstein was his passion.
Ligamedia CEO Natalia Koteneva said that Vadym was their best sales manager.
“These are very difficult days for us. But I want you to hear about Vadym. He deserves it. These are people who work behind the scenes in the media outlet. And everyone knows the names of journalists, but no one knows the names of those who make money for the media or work in marketing. Vadym is our best sales manager. Our star, our hero. I can’t say ‘was.’ He always will be,” she wrote in a Facebook post.
LIGA.net chief editor Yulia Bankova also said that Vadym was one of the best professionals in their sales department.
“A very bright guy. I would love to celebrate his comeback to the team, but unfortunately, we have to write obituaries about our own. He died while performing a combat mission. Honor and bright memory to you, Vadym. Thank you for defending us until your last breath,” she wrote on Facebook.
Vadym was also a fan of the Dinamo football club for over 20 years. The club expressed their condolences to his family and friends, adding that Vadym died near Lyman (Donetsk oblast).
“Vadym has been traveling to Dinamo’s away matches since the mid-2000s, was involved in several fan groups, and was remembered by his friends and fellow fans for his humor and good nature, as he was always the heart of the company. … This is another irreparable loss for our fan movement,” the club said in a statement.
The Druzi Dynamo community wrote: “When, everyone in the stadium’s noisy crowd disperses in groups after a match to discuss how their ‘idols’ played in the third half – the list of people whom you want to share these emotions with usually remains unchanged over the years. A kind of small festive ritual to close the football weekend. Vadym’s presence during the third half elevated the event. Wit, manner of communication, erudition – and knowledge of football, too. Many trips together… With his death, it’s become much darker here, and brighter and more cheerful up there.”
According to the Institute of Mass Information, Vadym Pidlypenskyi is the 117th media worker to die in the course of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
