On May 8, 2020, the cook of the 25th Ukrainian Antarctic Expedition Vasyl Omelianovych has died at Akademik Vernadsky station.
The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and the National Antarctic Scientific Center sincerely sympathize with Vasyl’s parents, brother, friends and relatives.
“We all knew Vasyl as a very calm, balanced and kind person, a true professional. This was already his fifth expedition to Akademik Vernadsky station. We are now investigating the circumstances of his death; so far, we know that he has committed suicide because of his personal problems. Unfortunately, we are all living people and no one knows in advance, what will be the last straw or “the straw that broke his back”. The issue of body delivery to Ukraine will be resolved. So far, the duties of a cook at the station are fulfilled by all the other expedition members” – said Evgen Dykyi, the Director of the National Antarctic Scientific Center.
Vasyl Omelianovych was born in 1985 and lived in Malyn, Zhytomir region. Since his first wintering (2011, the 16th UAE) he has repeatedly returned to Antarctica (participant of the 18th, 20th and 23rd UAE). The fifth wintering became the last for him. In a recent post on Facebook, he called for respect and esteem for the people and homes where they are waiting for us. Extremely modest person, a specialist in his field, a reliable friend and romantic – that’s how we will remember Vasyl Omelianovych.