Vitaly Bondarenko is a fan of the Dnipro football club.

Vitaly Yuriyovych Bondarenko was born on July 29, 1986 in the city of Dnipro. Studied at secondary school No. 22, graduated from evening secondary school No. 8. From an early age, he was interested in football, and also paid attention to workout training. At the age of 18, he joined the "Dnipro" fan movement, supported the team at home and away matches, took part in the football-related life of the movement, which at that time was very rich in the people of Dnipro. He served a term of service in the village of Cherkassy (Dnipropetrovsk region).

Like a large number of people from the fan stands of his native club, Vitaly stood up for Ukraine from the very beginning of the Russian invasion. In March 2014, he was mobilized to the 25th Dnipropetrovsk Airborne Brigade of the Highly Mobile Airborne Troops of the Armed Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine A1126, where he served as a grenade launcher. Later, comrades will remember that Vitaly had to retrain as a grenade launcher, because initially he was a driver of an armored car. With new equipment and weapons, not everything was successful the first time, but with his perseverance he was able to achieve his goal.

On June 13, 2014, the paratroopers were preparing to go to the anti-terrorist operation zone, where they were to reach by three military transport planes. On the night of June 14, three Il-76 MD planes carrying fighters, equipment, equipment and food took off in the direction of Luhansk airport. The first plane landed successfully at the airport. However, already the second plane (flight 76777), which flew with an interval of 10 minutes. from the first, Russian terrorists fired from MANPADS "Igla" during the landing approach at an altitude of 700 meters.

Along with Vitaly Bondarenko, there were 39 servicemen of the 25th Dnipropetrovsk separate airborne brigade, as well as 9 crew members of the 25th Melitopol transport aviation brigade, on board this plane. As a result of the impact, the aircraft became airborne and fell onto the fuselage, exploding as it fell. Ammunition also started burning and exploding on the ground. All 49 people on board died. In the morning of the same day, a search group of the Ukrainian military advanced to the crash site, which reported that the remains of the plane were scattered at a distance of more than 500 meters.

The terrorist attack, which led to the downing of the Il-76 near the Luhansk airport, became the largest one-time loss of the Armed Forces of Ukraine since independence (as of June 2014). 32 of the 49 dead were from the Dnipropetrovsk region. Vitaly Bondarenko was awarded the Order "For Courage" III degree (2014, posthumously), as well as the Badge "For the Defense of Luhansk Airport" (posthumously). He was buried at the Zaporozhye cemetery in the city of Dnipro.