From Porsche Cayenne to the trenches. The story of a successful businessman who volunteered at 55 and died in the war

A former banker, a biker, a successful businessman, and a co-owner of several companies was in the kitchen of his apartment near Andriivskyi Descent. With dark circles under his eyes, he was smoking by the hood. His wife stood next to him. After a sleepless night, they were listening to the president announce general mobilization. It was the morning of February 25, 2022.

In an hour, 55-year-old Yurii Haponenko packed thermal underwear, camouflage, and a change of shoes into a hunting backpack: he was an avid hunter and fisherman. He took his military ID card and went to the nearest military registration and enlistment office with his wife. When he passed the medical examination, he did not say that he had 12-centimeter titanium beams in his spine. He went to the front with them.

Black sheep on a Porsche Cayenne

“Explosions and gunshots were already reaching Kyiv,” says Tetiana Haponenko, 54. “It was almost 11 a.m., but so many people came to the Podil District Military Registration and Enlistment Office that they were no longer allowed to enter the building. It was very touching to see an old man of about 80 waiting next to us. He had a huge backpack stuffed with something, like a sack. Apparently, he was not taken, but he came there. Some people were already leaving the military registration and enlistment office with weapons in their hands. It was surprising at the time. The volunteers were divided into those who had military ID cards and those who did not.”

Tetiana stood in the crowd and watched her husband go to register.

“Yura looked around and said: ‘Go home, don't wait here, because there are many of us.’ He waved me off. At that moment I felt that it would be a long time. I did not leave immediately. I sat in the car. I felt like a black sheep. It was a strange picture: there was a luxury car, a Porsche Cayenne, standing near the military registration and enlistment office.”

Tetiana felt lonely and confused. An hour later, Yurii said they were being taken to Zhytomyr. It was there that they passed a medical examination, and Yurii did not tell them about the spinal surgery. When she asked him why he did not show the doctors his back during the examination, he replied: “I went as a volunteer. Then why did I come? To tell them that I can't do it?”

Two years earlier, Yurii Haponenko had become a biker. He bought a bike for himself and his son. They rode around Ukraine. One day, on the way to Izmail, Yurii fainted on the road. Then he severely injured his spine. He was treated for a long time and managed to return to normal life, but he had a scar on his back.

He gave a lead on several tanks

On February 26, 2022, businessman Yurii Haponenko with the call sign “Biker” became a reconnaissance operator and rifleman of the 95th separate airborne assault brigade. For 10 thousand dollars he bought himself a sniper rifle. He received his first mission in Makariv Raion, Zhytomyr Oblast. Later he told his wife that 150 people from his battalion simply “scattered” during the first two missions: they ran away into the woods because they were not ready.

“It was near Makariv in mid-March, at the 55th kilometer of the Zhytomyr highway,” says Tetiana. “A bridge crossing was blocked. He was told to leave, but he stayed there alone. The Russians realized that someone was hiding. They started shooting. Yura miraculously survived. He gave a lead on several tanks, they were destroyed, and a passage was organized for the unit. When in May he received a message about the order (“For Courage” of the third degree – ed.), he was pleased.”

“I can't sleep, because I'm also fighting while I sleep”

In July 2022, Yurii Haponenko joined the 46th Air Assault Brigade. He already had experience and taught others how to shoot. They were deployed near Bilohirka, Kherson region. The Russians were constantly storming their positions.

“Staying in Bilohirka was hard for them,” says Tetiana Haponenko. “They lost people on every sortie. When a small group goes to the battlefield, it is voluntary. For some time, they could not call volunteers for one outing. Yura always went. He felt very sorry for the young guys who had not yet had time to get married. He would say: ‘You stay here, I'm going.’”

Together with the 46th Brigade, Yurii liberated Kherson Oblast. The locals greeted them with flowers and fed them what they could. The military also gave people their food.

When Ivan Bank, the commander of a reconnaissance unit, and two of Yurii's brothers-in-arms were killed near Bilohirka on September 12, Tetiana realized that this could happen to anyone, including her husband.

She once said to him, “It must be so sad to die from the debris.” During the Soviet times, we were taught that heroes die in action. Yura replied: “These fragments flying at us are our action.” Yes, the soldiers cover us with themselves.

In December, Yurii Haponenko fought in Kramatorsk, Bakhmut, and Dobropillia. On December 15, he received a shrapnel wound to the neck in Bakhmut. Then he came to Kyiv for five days. No one knew that he was home for the last time.

“Yura used to be able to sleep sitting up, he could even take a little nap while standing up. It helped him a lot. And recently he said: ‘I can't sleep, because I'm also fighting during my sleep.’ His brain was not resting anymore. At first, he was on a patriotic high. When he came for the last time, he felt tired.”

The 10-day mission at -18°C

On December 25, Yurii was again on combat missions in Kurdiumivka, Donetsk Oblast. In the afternoon of December 31, 2022, the scout platoon was transferred to Soledar. At that time, the temperature dropped to -18°C at night.

“Yura was there on a combat mission for 10 days. At first, he was in a suburban area. Our men were based in houses. Yura said that the orcs came there in small groups. They made their way to the houses one or two at a time. Then they signaled to their men how to pass. Then more and more of them came. When there were 10-12 of them, they would jump out and raid our people. They were met accordingly. During these 10 days, Yura and the guys were probably on an adrenaline rush. They managed to do everything. They fought back and were in direct combat. Although it was difficult because of the cold. But they pushed the orcs back.”

On January 11, the scouts returned from a combat mission. All of them fell ill. Yurii had pneumonia.

“The antibiotics didn't help,” says Tetiana, “He was breathing hard. One lung was filled with fluid.”

But despite this, on January 16, Yurii Haponenko began acting as the commander of a reconnaissance platoon of the 46th Brigade.

“By the end of the month, he was sick and went on combat missions. He couldn't stay in the hospital to get treatment because he was already in command,” says his wife.

The fragment hit his spine and lungs

On February 1, Yurii called his wife. Together with a group of scouts, he was monitoring two important intersections near Soledar. He warned her that they were going on a mission and he would not be in touch for three days.

“We were sent on a mission near Soledar,” recalls 36-year-old Vasyl Halamai, a combat medic with a reconnaissance platoon of the 46th Brigade. “Our group had to hold back the Wagner mercenaries. It was very cold then. We walked several kilometers to the point where we had to hold the defense. When we arrived, we started digging in. All night we saw movement. We didn't open fire so as not to reveal our positions.”

On February 2, at 8 a.m., a battle began near Soledar. In the afternoon, all nine scouts were wounded. Haponenko was severely wounded. Three fragments hit his neck, and one of them damaged the cervical spine and bone marrow. Yurii also received a severe blow to the lung.

“I was the lucky one because I had a hematoma, muscle tear, and contusion,” says Vasyl Halamai. “I was examining and sending people to evacuate on foot. We had to walk several kilometers. Drivers refused to come to avoid coming under fire. We were leaving because we had no other choice. We used the communications to contact our driver from the reconnaissance platoon to come and pick us up. We had one armored car, which would not fit all of us. We asked the neighboring company to lend us their vehicle as well.”

“Only Yura's head was moving”

His wounded comrades pulled Yurii from the battlefield. They carried him several hundred meters to the trees. Armored vehicles had already arrived there.

“When we dragged Yura into the car, he said he couldn't feel his legs. At that moment, I was working on his neck, where the entry wound was. After that, he could not speak. We did everything we could to keep him conscious, talking to him. When we saw him blinking his eyelids, we realized that he was breathing. When we arrived, we transferred him to the ambulance to Daryna, our surgeon, a specialist in tactical medicine. We stabilized Yurii. Then we brought him to the stabilization point. From there he was transported to Dnipro,” says Halamai.

Tetiana learned about her husband's serious injury on the evening of February 3. At 10 a.m. the next morning, she and her sons were already in a hospital in Dnipro. Her husband was paralyzed.

“When we arrived, only Yura's head was moving,” Tetiana recalls. “He could still feel his right arm and the middle of his chest. He was conscious and recognized us. He could not say anything because of the breathing tube in his mouth. On the third day, it was removed and inserted into his chest. He tried to communicate, but he could not be heard at all. His vocal cords were not working. We tried to understand something by his lips.”

These memories are hard for the woman. Tetiana Haponenko is crying. But she gathers her strength and continues to talk. On February 6, Yurii was transported by helicopter to Kyiv City Clinical Hospital No. 17. After the operation, the surgeon said that everything was fine, but it was not known how much the spinal cord was affected.

The doctor said that there is no chance that Yura will get back on his feet. The best that can be achieved is if he can sit up. I have already been searching for doctors to arrange for rehabilitation abroad. Yura was constantly on a ventilator, but his blood pressure was too low. It was raised with medication. All the time Yura was conscious. He was telling us something. He was angry when we did not understand him. He did not know why he was in the intensive care unit. He kept asking to go home. Maybe he felt something. He would say with his lips: ‘I have to be home. I want to wash up, put a T-shirt on me’. Then I cried a lot that I didn't listen to him.”

On March 2, Yurii Haponenko became worse. His blood pressure dropped and his temperature rose to 40 degrees. On March 6, Yurii lost consciousness. He was in a coma for three days. He died on March 9. Yurii Haponenko was buried at the Pyrohiv Cemetery in Kyiv.

He traveled all over the world and dreamt of a home in Kyiv Oblast

Yurii Haponenko loved historical films. He re-read biographies of famous people. He was fond of Ivan Bahrianyi's books. He quoted Jobs.

Yurii was an avid hunter and fisherman. He went hunting with his friends even to Mongolia. He fished in Norway, in the far north, in Hammerfest. He traveled a lot. Together with his wife, they traveled all over Canada: from Montreal to Vancouver. They visited Europe.

They were in the United States. They traveled around Asia. They visited India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Israel, UAE, Tunisia, Egypt, and Turkey.

But after the war, Yurii planned to go with his wife to the house he had bought in Strakholissia near Chornobyl. To stay there together.

“It's on the Kyiv Reservoir,” Tetiana continues, “It's very beautiful there. While he was at war, I was doing repairs. I sent him photos. He said: ‘After the war, we'll go there with Tatka and stay there for a month.’ He used to call me Tatka.”

Author: Nataliia Lazuka