Friendship that only death could cut off
A few months ago, this collage was shared on almost all social networks. Hundreds of reposts, thousands of comments. Were the men in these photos really compadres and how did they die? So, below is the story of the military’s life, their service and strong friendship, which only death could cut off.
"Such friendship is probably very rare nowadays!"
The memorial plaques are installed on the wall of the House of Culture in the village of Halaiky, Kyiv region. It was in this village that the fallen soldiers Dmytro Bohdanov and Oleksandr Korol lived. The initiative to install the plaques belongs to the director of the House of Culture, Inna Svatko.
The woman has known the fallen soldiers since childhood: "I used to work as a teacher assistant in a kindergarten. Dmytro was our first graduate. And Sashko (hypocoristic Sashko, Sasha are for Oleksandr - ed. note) is my daughter's classmate. We were like a family! Such children... They still have to live and have children..."
When Dmytro and Oleksandr grew up, Inna Oleksiivna had already become the director of the House of Culture. The boys often came to her institution and took an active part in all the events.
"These boys were so positive - they were always smiling! They could support you in any situation. If you ask them for help, they will definitely respond. Do you know what village cultural centers are like? They need repairs. So whenever we needed male help, the guys would repair something. When something needed to be brought, they organized it and brought it," she recalls. She adds that the kind of friendship that Sashko and Dmytro had is probably very rare nowadays.
"I want my son to be proud of me!"
Dmytro was only 21 years old when he died, says his mother Olha Bohdanova. He had a job, but one day he decided to go to the military commissariat and told his mother: "Mum, I quit my job and am going to war. I signed a contract."
At that time, Vasyl, the husband of Dmytro's godmother, went to the front to defend the country, and Dmytro did not want to stay at home. A frustrated Olha recalls how she talked her only son out of it: "I told him: "Son, you're the only one I have! You realize that if something happens, you will leave me alone!" And he replied: "I want my son to be proud of me!"
Dmytro already had a young wife and a young son, Kyrylo.
Dmytro's father was killed at the front in June, and Dmytro in February
Since the age of 13, the boy has been working in the woods to earn extra money - he grew up without a father, so he tried to help his mother and old grandmother. According to Olha, she divorced Dmytro's father, Oleh, as soon as their son was born. Oleh held Dmytro in his arms when he was still a baby, and then he left for Kharkiv. The son and father never saw each other again, though they talked on the phone. Oleh also joined the Armed Forces, but in June 2022 he was killed on the front line - he was only 44...
Dmytro took his father's death very hard, he cried: "Even though I had never seen him, I knew that I had a father, and it made me feel good...".
Dmytro told his mother that when he and other soldiers first went to their positions in the Donetsk region, the enemy started dropping phosphorus bombs on them: "He said that the whole field was on fire and people were burning, and it was impossible to put it out. He told me that the soldiers' clothes were burning so that their bones were visible. And they even died from those burns, because it got in their eyes and on their heads. Like, you walk down the street and smell the smell of roasted meat - you feel nauseated..."
Dmytro was wounded at the positions. Olha says that the enemy started throwing grenades at the Ukrainian military: "Dmytro was turning around and hit on a mine, after which he was fired by round. And then, when he was still falling, he broke his spine. His comrades-in-arms and his compadre Sasha pulled Dmytro out of the shelling, dragging him on a stretcher for almost four kilometers. His compadre Sashko did not leave him... His son had a mine-blast injury, every organ was damaged, every blood vessel was hit. He was taken to Kurakhove and operated on in a field hospital. After that, my son lived for another month..."
Compadre Sashko said at the funeral that he could not believe his friend had died
Olha recalls that her son Dmytro had been friends with Sashko since childhood: "They went to school together, went to boxing together - everywhere together! To and from the club, to and from fights, to and from the showdowns - well, as usual for guys!"
During his lifetime, Dmytro made plans to finish his grandmother's house, to repair it completely. He also shared them with his mother: "Sashko and I will come home with a victory, we will go to all our friends, classmates, and compadres, it will be our victory!"
Sashko took Dmytro's death very hard. He said at the funeral: "I can't believe I don't have a friend, a compadre!"
Olha hoped that at least Oleksandr would have a different fate, that he would survive: "Back then, when I saw Sashko at my son's funeral, I could never have thought that he would soon be gone - he would die!"
She became a widow at the age of 24
On February 19, 2023, Dmytro's heart stopped beating forever. His wife, Alona Bohdanova, became a widow at the age of 24. She and Dmytro met in the village of Halaiky, where the girl came to visit her aunt. They got married and a son was born to them.
According to Alona, her husband loved fishing, hunting, and even wrote poetry a long time ago. He also wanted to provide his family with everything he had been deprived of as a child: " He wanted us to have a good life. He dreamed of buying an apartment and giving his child everything he did not have."
Dmytro called Alona from the service every day. However, on 17 January 2023, for some reason, he did not pick up the phone. The woman realized that something was wrong. The next day, compadre Oleksandr called and said that Dmytro had been wounded.
After being wounded, he lived another 1 month and 2 days
Alona was with her beloved first in a hospital in Dnipro, and then in a military hospital in Kyiv. The woman says that doctors put the soldier into a medically induced sleep: "The doctors said that Dmytro woke up many times. I saw it once - he did not speak, but only waved his head. He understood what I was saying, but did not wake up. He underwent 10 surgeries in a month. But the infection spread to various organs, and - as the doctors explained - his liver began to fail, and his heart could not stand it... He died..."
Sashko died in 3 months
Dmytro's compadre Sashko Korol outlived his best friend by 3 months. On April 30, 2023, Oleksandr turned 21 years old, and on May 26 of the same year, he passed away. Sashko's father, Volodymyr Korol, says that his son did not wait for a draft notice. Sashko and his compadre voluntarily went to the military commissariat. Three times he wrote an application to be drafted into the army. And since October 2022, the men have been at the front.
When Sashko went to defend his homeland, his mother Olena did not stop crying - both when he called from the front line and when her cell phone remained silent. Until the moment her son threatened her: "If you cry again, I won't call you back." For a month he did not tell where he was serving. Perhaps he did not want to worry his family once again. However, he promised: "Mom, you will see, we will go to war with Dmytro and the war will end! Ukraine will be free".
He hid from his mother that a tragedy had happened to his compadre
Sashko called his mother from the front, but Dmytro was not there. The woman felt something was wrong. She asked: "Where is Dima? (hypocoristic Dima is for Dmytro is - ed. note)". Sashko seemed exhausted, each time he answered something new, inventing where his compadre was. Then his mother insisted that he hand over the phone to his best friend. Sashko grew wary "Who told you something already?" However, at that time Olha only knew in her heart that something was wrong, but she did not know that Dmytro had been seriously injured.
When the coffin was being closed at Dmytro's funeral, Sashko made a promise: "I will avenge you." And he took his call sign
Sashko took the death of his compadre very hard - he cried, was silent, and was very sad. At the funeral, when they were closing the coffin, he promised: "I will avenge you."
"After Dmytro's death, Sashko took his call sign, 'Kum'. It turns out they had one positive for both of them," says his younger brother Vladyslav.
Sashko preferred not to tell his family about his experiences at the front line. He answered all questions briefly: "Everything is fine".
On the evening of 25 May 2023, Sashko spoke to his father for the last time on the phone. Two days later, Volodymyr received the most horrific phone call of his life - a message that Sashko had been killed in the village of Volodymyrivka, near Volnovakha.
Numerous victories in the ring and friendship
No value can measure the depth of pain of Oleksandr's parents. They say that Sashko grew up an athletic boy, he worked out on the horizontal bars. He did not allow himself or his younger brother Vladyslav to be offended - he knew how to stand up for himself and others.
Volodymyr's father recalls how Sasha was obsessed with boxing since he was a little boy: "Three times a week I took both sons to boxing classes in the neighborhood. Sashko has a lot of medals - all wins and only one 'draw'! He was a professional boxer, but I had to take him out of this section because he had a weak nose bridge - the slightest blow to the nose and he would bleed."
Sashko was never confrontational, he was friends with everyone. He was never yield to problems, no matter what they were - he always tried to be cheerful.
Since childhood, Sashko and Dmytro went to school together, though they did not study in the same class - Dmytro was a year older than Sashko. They were always together. My son always said to Dmytro: "Bro!" He christened Dmytro's son. He treated his godson very well - he loved him, carried him in his arms. He constantly visited the boy, bought him gifts. After the war, Sashko also wanted to get married - those were his plans...", Oleksandr's father shares his memories.
Olena says that her son helped her with the housework, cooked meals, loved to laugh and dance at concerts. And, of course, he was the life and soul of the party: "I would like Sasha to work as a police officer, but he dreamed of a boxing career. At the age of 12, he already knew how to drive a car. He went to study to be an electrician. He worked here and there... At the age of 18, he even worked in Italy for three months doing plastering... And before the full-scale invasion, he worked in Kyiv at a car repair shop."
The woman says that her son and Dmytro were like brothers: "They were very similar. It was as if something united them. They were for each other. If Dmytro didn't want to write something, Sashko would do it for him! And once Sashko was delivering bread by car. Dmytro called him and said: "I need help". Sasha pushed the matter aside and went to his friend's house." He told me later: "Mum, you do understand that Dmytro needed help! He needed it!"
Maryna Serheieva, for Censor. NET
