Former Come Back Alive Foundation employee, Invictus Games coach Taras Shpuk killed on front line
The Come Back Alive Foundation reported that its former employee, a 34-year-old serviceman with the call sign Cherep, Taras Shpuk, was killed while on a combat mission with a special forces group.
Taras Shpuk, a serviceman who was a former employee of the Come Back Alive Foundation and a coach for veterans at the Invictus Games. Photo courtesy of Come Back Alive FoundationHe began working at the foundation in 2019. At that time, the NGO decided to establish a veterans department. Taras Shpuk became one of its first employees. He came up with the idea of developing sports for veterans and proved its effectiveness in helping soldiers adapt after injuries.
Olha Omelianchuk, a former head of the communications department at Come Back Alive, recalled that Taras Shpuk was passionate about his work.
“Sometimes it might have seemed unhealthy to some, but personally, I was very impressed: if it’s love, then forever; if it’s work, then with all your heart,” she said.
As a veteran himself, he was deeply concerned about the problems faced by those who fought in the Russian-Ukrainian war. He joined the army in 2014, defended Ukraine as part of one of the volunteer battalions, and took part in the Revolution of Dignity before that.
“Taras was literally the ‘director of Ukraine’. He knew everyone, and everyone knew him. He solved any issues, always got involved, and was a generator of ideas. He was involved in the development of veteran sports in Ukraine and was the soul of the Invictus Games. He was responsible for a lot of operational work, he held the team together, and he kept their morale high. He was a symbol, a talisman, and the heart of the Invictus Games and veteran sports even before Russia’s full-scale invasion. He did not manage these processes, but in reality, he did all the work,” Taras Chmut, director of the Come Back Alive Foundation, said.
The foundation reported that in February 2022, when Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine, Taras Shpuk wanted to return to service. However, he had to work and get the foundation up and running, which had grown rapidly and was literally saving lives. During this period, Shpuk was actively involved in supplying the army — he communicated with units and delivered supplies.
“Despite the intense workload, Taras and his colleagues evacuated sports equipment for veterans – members of the Ukrainian team at the Invictus Games – from Irpin, which was then engulfed in war. Taras also personally participated in preparing the Ukrainian team for the competitions in The Hague at that time,” the foundation recalled.
In March 2025, ZMINA reported that Mykola Sirenko, a 21-year-old volunteer for the charity foundation East SOS and a serviceman with the call sign “STRIKE,” was killed in action in the Donetsk region.
