Andrii Bozduhan

Senior Soldier Andrii Bozduhan (call sign Haret) was killed on the night of July 29, 2022, in Olenivka, Donetsk region. Russian forces executed him and fellow Ukrainian prisoners of war by detonating one of the prison barracks.

Andrii was 27 years old. He was born in the village of Pervomaiske, in the Dnipro region. As a child, he was lively, cheerful, and known for his sense of humor—always ready with a joke, often the heart of any gathering. He played volleyball and, after finishing the 9th grade, trained as a welder. In 2013, he began working at the Interpipe steel plant. The following year, he was drafted for compulsory military service and later signed a contract to continue. Bozduhan served three rotations in the Anti-Terrorist Operation. In 2020, he joined the Azov Regiment, where he served as a combat engineer.

At the time of russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Haret was attending advanced training courses in Zolochiv, Lviv region.

“He and his brothers-in-arms immediately rose to defend Ukraine, saying: ‘If not us, then who? We don’t abandon our own—because they’ll die there.’ Andrii fought in the defense of Mariupol. We stayed in constant contact. At first, he called from Azovstal Plant three times a day, then twice, and eventually just once. On February 26, he suffered a shrapnel wound to his upper left leg—almost a through-shot. But he stayed at the hospital for only a few hours. He went back to his unit, saying it was safer there, and he’d rather do seated work and support his fellow fighters than lie idle,” said his wife, Alona.

“Just before leaving for Zolochiv, Andrii was putting our son to bed, singing him the song ‘Mene vzhe nemaie’ by Tartak. I remember tears pouring down my face. He never used to say goodbye—always said it wasn’t needed because he’d be back soon. But that time, he returned home four times just to kiss our son and me again. It felt like he couldn’t get enough of us… like he was trying to memorize our scent,” she recalled.

The fallen fighter was awarded the Medal “For Military Service to Ukraine” and, posthumously, the Order “For Courage,” 3rd Class. A street in his native Pervomaiske was renamed in his honor.

The family was only able to say goodbye nearly eleven months after Andrii’s death. On June 22, 2023, he was cremated at Baikove Cemetery in Kyiv. Two days later, his ashes were laid to rest in his hometown of Pervomaiske.

He is survived by his son, wife, parents, older brother, and grandmother.

Source: Memorial

Contributors: Sophia Yakivtsiv and Tetiana Spindel (translators), Liena Shulika (designer)