June 10, 2023
Sergeant Andriy Kozhemyakin, call sign Kyrylo, died on June 10, 2023, during the liberation of the village of Blahodatne in Donetsk Oblast. Ukrainian soldiers were repelling an enemy attack while taking up new positions. When the occupiers opened mortar fire, the defender suffered fatal wounds. He would have turned 45 the next month, on July 26.
Andriy was born in the village of Bolotkivtsi in Rivne Oblast. He graduated from Kutyankivka Primary and Secondary School and then served his mandatory military service in the internal forces, attaining the rank of sergeant. In civilian life, he worked as a repairman at Kutyankivka Lyceum for a long time. He loved animals, especially horses and dogs. He was married and raised three children, trying to devote his free time to his family and loved ones.
During the full-scale war, he joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine to defend his country and family from occupiers. He served in the ranks of the 68th Separate Jaeger Brigade named after Oleksa Dovbush and held the position of a squad commander.
“Andriy was a brave and kind person with a great sense of humor. He always repeated: ‘Who if not us? If we don’t stop the enemy there in the east, they will come here.’ He also said that he was going to war for all of us. After his death, his platoon leader called and said that Andriy showed himself during the storming of Blahodatne, and he added that this man was uppercase,” said the sister of the fallen, Olena Mykytyuk.
The defender was buried in the village of Kutyanka in Rivne Oblast.
Andriy is survived by his mother, wife, two sons, daughter, sister, and brother.