Serhii Velichko

Serhiy Olehovich Velichko (Ukr: Сергі́й Оле́гович Вели́чко), nom de guere Chili, is a Ukrainian soldier in the Azov Brigade who fought in the war in Donbas and the Russian invasion of Ukraine as the commander of a reconnaissance battalion in the Kraken Regiment of the Ukrainian Army.

Serhii Velichko
Native name	Сергі́й Оле́гович Вели́чко
Birth name	Serhiy Olehovich Velichko
Born	January 3, 1994 Kharkiv, Ukraine
Branch	National Guard of Ukraine Main Directorate of Intelligence
Years of service	2014-present
Unit	Azov Brigade (2014–2022) Kraken Regiment (2022-present)
Battles / wars	War in Donbas Russian invasion of Ukraine

Biography

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]