[3] On 20 February 2014, he had been removing injured from Instytutska Street, while served with the 15th Maidan Self-Defense Unit during the Revolution of Dignity.

[4][8] For his valiant actions of saving his comrade's life, he was granted the Plast's Bronze Cross and the Order for Courage of the Third Degree.

[4][10][7] Hundreds of Ternopil citizens flocked to the Archcathedral on 1 June 2022, to pay their final respects, where they customarily said goodbye to Vitaly.

[11][12] The War Is Not Over Yet picture exhibition detailing the more than 500 crimes Russians have perpetrated against the media since 24 February 2022, debuted on Ternopil's Taras Shevchenko Boulevard.

Vitaly Derekh was honored with a military settlement in May 2022, which was part of the 3rd Battalion of the Ivan Bohun First Separate Special Forces Brigade.