While carrying out a combat mission as part of a special operations group, our friend and former colleague Taras Shpuk, a warrior with the call sign “Cherep” (“Skull”), was killed. He was 34 years old.

Taras began working at “Come Back Alive” in 2019 — the year the Foundation decided to form its Veterans Department. He became one of its first team members. It was Taras who brought the idea of developing veteran sports and proved its effectiveness in helping soldiers adapt after injuries.

“We were looking for someone with an impeccable reputation, someone respected within the veteran community who wouldn’t steal money. The community unanimously recommended Taras. He truly had an impeccable reputation because he was an extremely honest person. Shpuk was a real enthusiast about his work. Sometimes that level of passion might have seemed excessive to others, but personally, I admired it: if he loved, he loved forever; if he worked, he gave himself to it completely,” recalls Olha Omelyanchuk, former Head of Communications at “Come Back Alive.”

Taras deeply cared about the problems faced by participants of the russian-Ukrainian war, as he was a veteran himself. He joined the military in 2014, defending Ukraine as part of one of the volunteer battalions. Before that, he took part in the Revolution of Dignity.

“Taras was, quite literally, the ‘Director of Ukraine.’ He knew everyone, and everyone knew him. He could solve any problem, was always involved, and constantly generated ideas. He worked on developing veteran sports in Ukraine and was the soul of the Invictus Games. A huge amount of operational work depended on him — the team depended on him, their morale depended on him. He was the symbol, talisman, and heart of the Invictus Games and veteran sports even before the full-scale invasion. He didn’t manage these processes formally, but in reality, he did all the work,” says Taras Chmut, Director of the “Come Back Alive” Foundation.

In February 2022, when russia launched its full-scale war against Ukraine, Taras wanted to return to service. But the Foundation had grown rapidly and was literally saving lives — it needed people who could keep it running. During this time, Shpuk was deeply involved in supporting the military: he handled communication with units and personally delivered essential supplies.

Despite the enormous workload, Taras and his colleagues evacuated sports equipment from war-torn Irpin for the Ukrainian veteran team preparing for the Invictus Games. Taras personally took part in training the national team for the competition in The Hague.

When the entire civilized world applauded our defenders, Shpuk simply rejoiced that it had become possible — despite russia’s attempts to destroy Ukrainians and their identity.

Along with preparing Ukrainian teams for the Invictus Games and Warrior Games, Taras and his like-minded colleagues launched the Veteran Forum.

When the “Come Back Alive” team began preparations to support the 2023 counteroffensive, Taras took an active part — he quite literally lived among the troops, coming under fire multiple times to deliver supplies as quickly as possible.

In November 2023, he left the Foundation to join military intelligence — returning to where he had once served, to where his heart truly belonged.

All his colleagues who had the privilege of working with Taras Shpuk remember him as a hardworking, dedicated, kind, and principled professional. And for many on the team, he became a loyal friend.

“Taras Shpuk was a warrior, and he died as a warrior. He is the first employee of Come Back Alive to be killed in combat since the beginning of the full-scale war. He passionately believed in everything he did — and we believed in him. It is painful and difficult for the entire long-time team of the Foundation, for his friends, and for everyone who shared these years with him. To be honest, we were all waiting for the moment when Shpuk would accomplish everything he had planned and return to the Come Back Alive team. We had made plans together.

This is a tremendous loss for veteran sports, as he was one of its driving forces in the country. In 2022, Taras risked his life to evacuate the sports equipment of our Invictus Games team. I asked him then, ‘Why did you go?’ And Shpuk replied, ‘How could we represent Ukraine at the Games in The Hague without our equipment?’

Taras carried the cause of veteran sports at a time when very few people in the country were involved in it. If it hadn’t been for his early operational efforts back then, Prince Harry wouldn’t have come to Ukraine — and none of this would have happened,” says Taras Chmut, Director of the Come Back Alive Foundation.

“Taras was the first to host an on-site live stream on the Come Back Alive page dedicated to tactical medicine. Shpuk loved Ukraine, sniping, and sleeping — he could fall asleep in any position and anywhere. This is a huge loss for me and for all of us,” says Olha Omelyanchuk, former Head of Communications at Come Back Alive.

“He was a skeptic and a ‘little-traitor type,’ the kind of person who always thought everything could be done better and needed fixing. But I adored him for that and always told him, ‘Come back to CBA, you’ll restore order here.’ He was someone who truly cared — someone who shared our values. That’s why we continued to collaborate with him as a specialist, inviting him to train veterans and organize adaptive sports events,” says Dmytro Kolosiuk, Head of HR at the Foundation.

“We met Taras back during the Revolution of Dignity. We worked together at the Trade Unions Building and took part in several clashes. Later, our paths crossed in the civic sector, and eventually, we met again at Come Back Alive. At the Invictus Games, he became a whole chapter in himself. Taras even learned to coach veterans in wheelchair basketball and tried wheelchair rugby as well. He was a long-time supporter and the operational manager of the Invictus Games Ukraine team,” says Taras Kovalyk, Head of the Veterans Department.

“He was the most sincere person I’ve ever known. Like a child in the best sense of the word — there was not a single ounce of deceit in him,” says Liza Shovikova, a Foundation colleague.

“Taras was incredible. There is no one else like him. He was the kind of person who cared about everyone, even when he himself had no strength left. We were all very lucky to have him in our lives,” says Daryna Prykup, Operations Manager of the Department of Strategic Initiatives.

The team of the “Come Back Alive” Foundation extends its deepest condolences to the parents, family, and friends of Taras Shpuk — a remarkable person, a true professional, an inspiring leader, and a skilled warrior.