Defender Andrii Bobruienko died on August 11, 2023, near the city of Druzhkivka. As the soldiers were returning from a mission on the Bakhmut axis to Kramatorsk, their vehicle was involved in a traffic accident. The warrior was 57 years old.
Andrii was born on November 27, 1965, in Mariupol. At the age of 15, he moved with his parents and brother to Kyiv. He finished school there and later studied to become a train driver at a railway college. He worked in his specialty and later trained as a chef in Odesa.
“Dad loved life—everything interested him. He was constantly fulfilling small dreams, but dreams nonetheless. He was always positive: the war started, and he was like, ‘I’ve always wanted to grow a beard—now I can!’ He was also very generous and knew how to court beautifully. When he was 29, he saw my mom in a restaurant and won her over.
He adored animals. When I turned six and was getting ready for school, I saw a hamster in a pet shop and wanted it so badly, but my mom said no. I was quietly crying in the back seat. Dad found out why, turned the car around, and bought me that hamster,” his daughter Hanna recalled.
In recent years, Andrii worked for Nova Poshta. He was divorced and raised a son and a daughter with his former wife.
On the first day of the full-scale invasion, Andrii went to the military enlistment office and registered. He then joined the Territorial Defense Forces. Later, he served in the 23rd Separate Special-Purpose Battalion of the Separate Presidential Brigade named after Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytskyi.
“Dad loved playing backgammon. He learned the game from his mother—my grandmother—and then taught everyone else: my brother and me, colleagues, and brothers-in-arms. He dreamed of handmade backgammon. His friends learned about this and ordered such a gift for him,” Hanna said. “They were supposed to be delivered on August 11, and he was happily returning to Kramatorsk. The backgammon arrived—but Dad never got to see them.”
At 9:00 a.m. — the nationwide minute of silence. The Donetsk Regional Military Administration and the Memorial of Heroes platform remember the fallen defenders from Donetsk region.