Junior Sergeant Hryhorii Bondarenko was born on October 21, 1992, in the village of Berestove, Bakhmut District. He trained as a welder. He worked as a handyman at the company “Bakhmut-Agro.”
After the full-scale Russian invasion, Hryhorii moved to the village of Chutove in the Poltava region. In 2023, he joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served in the 63rd Separate Mechanized Brigade, where he held the positions of deputy commander of a combat vehicle and gunner-operator. He took part in battles, including near the village of Velyka Novosilka.
“I’ve never met anyone like him. He knew how to bring a smile to people’s faces even in the midst of war. He was my best friend, the person closest to me—someone who would always support me, make me laugh, and give his all. He was caring and kind, and had many plans for the future. He came home for his last leave in the summer. It was my birthday, and he promised to come back many more times and have a much better time. We cherished each other very much,” said his niece Tetyana.
Hryhorii Bondarenko, whose call sign was “Bakhmut,” was killed in action on October 2, 2025, near the village of Torske in the Donetsk region. He was ambushed by enemy forces and suffered a fatal wound. The defender was 32 years old.
He was posthumously awarded the “Defender of Donbas” and “Badge of Honor” medals.
Grigory was buried in the village of Chutove in Poltava Oblast.
He is survived by his father Boris, his sister Lyubov, his brother Boris, and his nieces and nephews Tetyana, Maksym, Yuriy, and Dmytro.
At 9:00 a.m.—a nationwide minute of silence. The Donetsk Regional Military Administration and the “Memorial to Heroes” platform are honoring the fallen defenders from the Donetsk region.