Volodymyr Balchenko was born in the Cossack village of Berestovets in the Chernihiv region. He graduated from the local school and later from the Nizhyn Professional Agrarian Lyceum, specializing as a crane truck operator. Volodymyr worked as a forester and supported his mother following the death of his father.

He had a deep passion for football and played for his local team, FC Berestovets.

In 2015, Volodymyr began his military service at the 169th Training Center "Desna". He later signed a contract and joined the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, taking part in combat missions in the ATO zone from July 2016.

On January 29, 2017, Junior Sergeant Volodymyr Balchenko, serving as a machine gunner, took part in an assault operation by the 72nd Brigade in the industrial zone near Avdiivka. His group encountered and engaged a Russian sabotage and reconnaissance unit (DRG). After forcing the enemy to retreat, Ukrainian forces took control of a fortified enemy position and held it under heavy fire until reinforcements arrived.

At approximately 09:40, during intense artillery shelling, a direct hit by an enemy mortar in their trench killed Captain Yevhen Kyzyl, Junior Sergeant Volodymyr Balchenko, and Private Dmytro Ovcharenko.

Volodymyr was laid to rest on February 2, 2017, in his native village of Berestovets.

In April 2017, a memorial plaque was unveiled at the school where he studied, and the street where he was born was renamed in his honor. Each year, a football tournament is held in Berestovets in memory of Volodymyr Balchenko.

Awarded posthumously:
▪️ Order of Courage, III Class