Serhii Velichko

Velichko was born on January 3, 1994, in Kharkiv, Ukraine.^[1][2] He participated in Euromaidan, defending the protesters from titushky and Yanukovych's Berkut police. Members of the National Corps attribute Velichko as the author of the saying "Putin khuylo!", which gained popularity after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. As a fighter in the Azov Brigade, Velichko fought in the war in Donbas.^[1][2][3]

After returning from the front in 2015, Velichko became an activist in Kharkiv. He founded the Kharkiv Oblast branch of the National Corps.^[2] During this time, Velichko conducted humanitarian assistance throughout the city of Kharkiv and the wider oblast, notably organizing a humanitarian mission during the Balakliia warehouse explosion in 2017.^[4][5] Velichko was sent to a pre-trial detention center in 2021 along with other members of the National Corps on suspicion of extortion and participation in a criminal organization.^[6]

At the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Velichko was released and sent to the front in the battle of Kharkiv. Velichko created the intelligence and sabotage battalion of Azov alongside Konstyantyn Nemychev, which eventually became the Kraken Regiment.^[7] Velichko has served in the Kraken regiment since March 2022.^[8][9]