Andrii Mykhailovych Yurkevych «Hrizli»
- Military rank: Soldier
- Unit: «Aidar» Territorial Defense Battalion
- Position: Commander of the 2nd platoon of the 2nd «Zakhid» Company
- State honors: Order «For Courage», III class (2015, posthumously); «Honorary Citizen of the City of Ternopil» (2015, posthumously); Order «Honor and Glory» (2015, posthumously); Order «People's Hero of Ukraine» (2016); Honorary Citizen of Ternopil Region (December 21, 2022, posthumously);
Biography
Andrii Yurkevych studied at Ternopil School No. 13 and took part in all possible competitions, contests, quests, and KVN events. He worked at the company «Maksymum» in Ternopil.
Andrii Yurkevych was a fighter of the «Kharakternyk» sports club in Ternopil, a civic activist, and an active participant in the events on the Maidan, particularly during the confrontation of February 18—20, 2014.
After the beginning of the war in eastern Ukraine, he joined the «Aidar» Battalion and, as part of it, took part in the liberation of the Luhansk region. He kept a war participant's diary on social media.
Circumstances of death
He was killed in an ambush by pro-Russian militants on the Shchastia — Metalist road section, near the village of Vesela Hora. On September 5, two groups of the battalion advanced to a checkpoint on the Metalist — Shchastia section in Luhansk region. Due to artillery shelling of the detachment's area, they had to retreat into a forest belt, after which the vehicle carrying the fighters drove toward Shchastia.
There were 12 people from the first group of «Terminator» in the vehicle and 11 fighters from the second group, commanded by Andrii Yurkevych. After passing the turn toward Kolorovi Pisky, about 1—1.5 km later they approached a checkpoint over which a Ukrainian flag was flying. «Terminator» (the group commander) got out of the vehicle and approached the sentry. To the sentry's question, «Who are you?», he answered, «We are Aidar». «Aidar!» the sentry shouted, and at the same moment the entire checkpoint opened fire on the vehicle carrying our fighters. The body of the vehicle exploded and caught fire because the fuel tank was shot through and the ammunition detonated. Many fighters suffered wounds and burns. They fled into the tree line and the sunflower field. Single shots rang out behind them - the sounds of a sweep, apparently finishing off the wounded who remained at the checkpoint
One of our wounded men reached the soldiers of the 80th Brigade and the volunteers. The paratroopers rushed to help the Aidar fighters, stormed the checkpoint, and entered the battle. They knocked out an enemy tank and APC, destroyed the checkpoint structures by driving through them, and continued on toward Shchastia.
On November 11, 2014, the State Archive of Ternopil Region hosted the presentation of Andrii Yurkevych's book of memoirs about the Maidan and the Revolution of Dignity, «My Revolution» (the «Vector» publishing center, a print run of fifty copies). The speakers at the presentation included the archive's director Yurii Humen, Andrii's wife Khrystyna, ATO soldier and comrade-in-arms Valerii Chobotar, School No. 13 director Ruslan Vavrychuk, and his father Mykhailo.
Andrii finished writing the story two weeks before leaving for the east as a volunteer. He wrote at night, —
«I must manage to do this, otherwise my conscience will torment me»
He sought change and wanted people to change. Reading the book, one learns about the hardships young patriots had to overcome and hears firsthand about the battles on Instytutska Street, about how, under sniper fire, they rescued wounded comrades and carried out the bodies of the fallen. Andrii Yurkevych's memoirs make it clear what drove young people, without hesitation, to go straight from the Maidan to the front to defend their Motherland.