Huliaiev was born in 1978 in the city of
Shostka,
Sumy Oblast. He joined the
Armed Forces of Ukraine in 1995. He served at the front since the beginning of
the war in eastern Ukraine in 2014. In April 2019, Lieutenant Colonel Huliaiev congratulated personnel and presented certificates and commemorative badges of the motorized infantry battalion and other military ranks in Shostka, on the occasion of the celebration of the 5th anniversary of the battalion's creation. On 8 May 2019, on the in Shostka, he presented veterans of the war against Russian aggression with honorary badges of the battalion. Huliaiev then served in the
93rd Mechanized Brigade. Later, he held the position of chief of staff of the 28th Mechanized Brigade, and in September 2021 he was appointed commander of the 28th brigade. He received a master's degree from
Taras Shevchenko Luhansk National University in
Starobilsk. He was awarded the "Cold Ravine" award. Since February 2022, with the beginning of
the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, Vitaly Huliaiev at the head of the 28th Mechanized Brigade was on the front line, stopping the advance of Russian troops in the south of Ukraine. Huliaiev died on 23 July 2022 on the outskirts of
Mykolaiv as a result of a rocket attack on a command post. His funeral took place on 26 July 2022 at the
Odesa Military Academy. The service also commemorated three lieutenant colonels;
Oleksandr Deinek,
Valentin Sergiyenko and
Vitaly Bondarev, who died on 23 July together with the commander. The ceremony was attended by city and regional leaders, including the commander of the operational command "South" Major General
Andrii Kovalchuk, the fifth president of Ukraine
Petro Poroshenko, the former acting President of Ukraine
Oleksandr Turchynov, and others. ==Awards==