Soldier Andrii Yahmurdzhy was killed in early April 2022 at the Illich Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol as a result of enemy mortar shelling. The defender was 43 years old.
Andrii was born and raised in Mariupol. He had two higher education degrees. In 2001, he graduated from the Faculty of Engineering and Economics at the Pryazovskyi State Technical University with a degree in Accounting and Auditing. In 2014, he obtained another diploma from the Ukrainian State University of Railway Transport in Kharkiv, majoring in Railcars and Wagon Facilities.
For many years, he worked as the head of the technical diagnostics bureau for railcars and tank cars at LLC “SEREP”. He often went on business trips to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, where he learned to cook delicious pilaf and other dishes. Before the full-scale invasion, he worked as an engineer at a construction company. He loved reading historical books and studied engineering literature in English. Intelligent, well-read, and calm, Andrii enjoyed having friends over and was passionate about cooking and treating guests.
“My father was a kind, bright person who loved me very much. He truly enjoyed being a dad. We spent a lot of time together. He was cheerful, and we shared the same sense of humor, so we always understood each other. He loved nature — for the last few years, he went hiking with friends near the sea, camping and taking landscape photos. We had a tradition: every year we went to the fields with wheat and took pictures. In 2025, it will be the eighth year I continue this tradition — sadly, the last two without my father,”
— shared his daughter, Mariia Yahmurdzhy.
In February 2022, Andrii voluntarily joined the 109th Separate Territorial Defense Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, defending his native Mariupol as a rifleman.
“February 24 — the last day I saw my father. I was at my godmother’s house. We were playing cards with her kids when he came in. He left saying everything would be fine. On February 28, I texted him, ‘How are you?’ He replied, ‘Kitty, everything’s fine. There was no signal.’ That was his last message,”
— Mariia added.
After a week of intense fighting in Mariupol, Andrii was wounded in the arm and sent to a military hospital in the Kalmiuskyi district. In mid-March, after the hospital came under heavy shelling, everyone there was relocated to the Illich Steel Works. Despite his injury, Andrii helped set up a field kitchen at the new location and took part in preparing food. However, on April 2–3, 2022, during heavy enemy shelling of the plant area, he was struck by mortar fire and sustained fatal injuries.
His family and loved ones were only able to say their final goodbyes on October 1, 2024. Andrii was laid to rest at the Alley of Heroes in Bucha, Kyiv region.
He is survived by his daughter and his aunt.
At 9:00 a.m. — a nationwide moment of silence.
The Donetsk Regional Military Administration and the Heroes Memorial platform honor the fallen defenders from Donetsk region.