The Russians sentenced my son—an “Azov” fighter—to a quarter-century in prison. The story of volunteer Svitlana Bohdan’s family
Source: SVOI CITY
Author: Hanna KURTSANOVSKA
Svitlana’s younger son, Anatoliy, was in Lysychansk when the full-scale war broke out, and he continues to defend the country today. Svitlana’s husband joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the start of the full-scale invasion. On March 16, 2023, he was wounded in battle in the Donetsk region and, sadly, died in the hospital seven months later. Our reporters spoke with Svitlana Bohdan, who raised her sons to be true warriors and who, without exaggeration, can be called a woman of steel.
Both sons became soldiers
Svitlana has been working as a nurse at a lyceum for 28 years. The age difference between her sons is 1.9 years. She could never have imagined that Andriy and Anatoliy, once they grew up, would choose the same path—deliberately becoming soldiers.
“The younger one is 22 now; he’s been serving on a contract basis since October 2020. At the start of the war, Anatoliy was in Lysychansk on his regular rotation, and now he’s involved in ensuring national security and the defense of our homeland. I’m in constant contact with my son—a quick phone call or some text messages. It’s enough for me to know that he’s doing well.”
Patriot and Athlete
Svitlana can tell us more about her older son. All her thoughts right now are on Andriy’s fate. He was the first in the Bohdan family to take up arms—since October 2019, he has served in the ranks of the “Azov” Special Forces Detachment of Military Unit 3057.
“While attending college in our city, Andriy was a blood donor; he actively participated in this social cause through the ‘One Blood—Kovel’ project, and whenever possible, he encouraged Kovel’s youth to join the effort. He also joined the local chapter of the “National Corps” organization, led by Oleksandr Filon, a former “Azov” fighter. After leaving the unit, Oleksandr began rallying like-minded young people around him, took an active part in the life and development of his hometown, and became a coach for “Rukopash Hopak”—which, by the way, is now a national sport.
Andriy enjoyed training at the “SICH” sports club; he traveled to competitions and won. At that time, he became seriously interested in nationalism, read a lot of specialized literature, and engaged in self-development. With the “National Corps,” he traveled to rallies in Lviv and Kyiv, as well as to military-sports camps and national-patriotic education programs.
Andriy traveled to Mariupol several times to visit a friend who served in “Azov.” Ostensibly for a vacation, but in reality, even back then, he was finding out how to join the unit. He trained constantly, improved his physical fitness, ran, and went to the gym. Immediately after graduating from college, he went to Mariupol, where he completed a basic combat training course.
Volunteering Helped Her Keep Her Sanity
With the start of the full-scale invasion, the children from the school where Svitlana worked were sent home, and the school staff took turns on duty.
In early March 2022, a pharmacist she knew asked Svitlana to help sort medicines that were being sent from abroad—and that’s how she joined the team at the international volunteer logistics center “Marlog.” Svitlana would alternate between working shifts at the high school and helping at the volunteer center, where humanitarian aid from Israel was arriving: medical supplies, bandages, surgical kits, individual first-aid kits and their contents, disposable medical clothing, splints, stretchers, gloves, tactical medical supplies, food, animal feed, baby food, sleeping bags, and much more for the military, field hospitals, and regular hospitals.
In the early days, Svitlana’s husband, Yaroslav, also joined the military, inspired by his sons. On February 27, 2022, her husband voluntarily reported to the military registration and enlistment office: first to patrol with the local territorial defense unit, then he went to a training unit, and from there to the front lines.
At that time, Andriy and his comrades were defending Mariupol. He rarely got in touch with his mother: at first, he couldn’t charge his phone, and then he lost it. But whenever he called or texted, he always reassured her that everything was fine with them and asked her not to panic. Along with Andriy were two other comrades from Kovel; usually, whichever one of them was able to get in touch would pass on news about the others.
“Later, Andriy called from a different number. When they got Starlink, he would use his comrades’ phones to post messages on social media or record voice messages. He’s not a man of many words; all his messages were the same—that he was fine and that I shouldn’t worry. He didn’t share anything personal, so I don’t know the details of Andriy’s time in Mariupol and at Azovstal.”
On April 27, 2022, a peaceful rally titled “Save Mariupol” was held in Andriy’s hometown to support the defenders and residents of Mariupol. The rally was joined by the defenders’ families and friends, volunteers, and concerned citizens.
There were many people Svitlana knew at the volunteer center; they knew that her son was in Mariupol, which was surrounded by the Russian army. And everyone supported her. That was exactly what she needed during such a difficult time—to be among people so she wouldn’t be left alone with her sad thoughts.
“When Andriy sent voice messages, we would gather and listen to them together. And we were happy that he was alive and that he was doing well.”
He sent his regards from Olenivka and asked not to ask
any questions On May 15, 2022, a rafting trip down the Stokhid River was organized for the center’s volunteers. Svitlana recalls that the weather was wonderful that day. No cell service, out in nature, far from civilization. Right at the finish line, she saw missed calls from Andriy on Telegram.
“I called him back and still managed to talk to him. My son said he wouldn’t be able to stay in touch for the time being, but we’d definitely see each other soon. After all, they’d been told it would take 3–4 months, and all the fighters would be in government-controlled territory. I really blamed myself then for not being in town and for not being able to record our conversation because of the poor internet connection.”
Andriy left “Azovstal” the next day: on May 16, 2022, the wounded were being evacuated. At the time, his wife didn’t know if Andriy had been wounded. At the end of the month, on Svitlana’s birthday, she received a call from an unknown number. It was Andriy. He quickly wished her a happy birthday. He asked his mother not to ask him any questions. And again—he said everything was fine with him, that they just needed to be patient a little longer, and they would be home.
“In early June 2022, Oleksandr Filon, a friend known as ‘Virnyi’ (Andriy’s coach, a former ‘Azov’ member who joined the Third Assault Brigade after the full-scale invasion began — “Our Own”)—found a video from the prison camp in Olenivka showing Andriy walking in a column of prisoners. We, the relatives of the captured fighters, were already in Telegram groups at that time, where everyone shared whatever information they could find in Russian public channels. Indeed, my son was in the video. I filed a report with the police and attached a screenshot from the video—as evidence of his captivity. I then wrote to the SBU, submitted the information to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, to the Red Cross, and to the National Institute of Biotechnology; the police took DNA samples.”
“Bodko” was forced to confess to crimes: he was sentenced to 25 years
On July 30, 2022, a run in support of prisoners of war was scheduled to take place on Trukhaniv Island in Kyiv. Svitlana was supposed to leave Kovel by train the day before. She recalls how, early that morning, the mother of her comrade Andriy—who was a prisoner of war—called her and told her the news about the explosion in Olenivka.
“I was at work at the time, so I told her I’d read everything when I had a moment. Looking back now, my heart nearly stopped—the Russians were claiming that our forces had allegedly fired HIMARS at the prison camp. But there was no information about the wounded or the dead. I went to Kyiv anyway; instead of the race, a rally was held on St. Sophia Square. There, I met the families of other captured “Azov” fighters.
After a large-scale exchange of officers on September 22, 2022, Svitlana learned from the released fighters that her son was in the Donetsk pretrial detention center at that time. Later, the men who were exchanged on December 31 said they hadn’t seen Andriy since September. For many months, Svitlana knew nothing about her son, and it wasn’t until March 3, 2023, that she saw him on Russian Telegram channels. In the video, he confessed to crimes against civilians.
“Andriy’s comrade-in-arms told me then not to believe a single word, because they were forcing him to say that on camera. And he’s doing this to save his life; otherwise, they’ll torture him. And here’s what’s interesting: Andriy speaks Russian in the video, even though he’s been a native Ukrainian speaker since birth. In other words, he was reading a script written for him in Russian.”
On August 14, 2023, Russian Telegram channels also circulated a video from the courtroom where the verdict was announced: Andriy Bohdan was sentenced to 25 years in a maximum-security prison.
“On the one hand, I was glad to see my son, to know he was alive. But he had changed so much: he was thin—skin and bones—exhausted, unshaven. And I still can’t forget those sad eyes.”
We spoke about the prisoners in Switzerland and Turkey—to no
avail In May, when the penultimate prisoner exchange took place, Svitlana was in Geneva. She joined the civil society organization “Freedom for the Defenders of Mariupol,” whose representatives were there following a visit to Turkey, where they had met with the ambassador. The group of women attended a meeting of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. They also held a series of meetings with representatives of the Office of the Human Rights Commissioner and the International Committee of the Red Cross. In addition, the women took part in a rally in support of the captives.
“I had the opportunity to speak about the fighters of the Mariupol garrison, about their bravery and courage, and about their captivity, which was supposed to last no more than four months. General questions were raised—why our loved ones aren’t being exchanged, how to speed up the exchanges—and we also discussed the conditions of detention for prisoners of war and the fact that ICRC representatives are not allowed access to the detention sites. There, at the UN, they expressed sympathy for us, but said they also had no influence over Russia.
We raised the issue of a third party to which the prisoners could be transferred, where they would be held until the end of hostilities. But, as you can see, all these numerous requests to various organizations and meetings at the international level yielded no results.”
Severe injuries left her husband with no chance of recovery
In October 2023, Svitlana faced a new ordeal: her husband died from his injuries at a hospital in Lviv. Yaroslav was 50 years old.
“In March, he was sent to the Donetsk region; he was last online on March 10, 2023. Before that, he warned that he wouldn’t be in touch for a long time. On March 16, Yaroslav sustained a severe injury—an explosive-induced facial injury. We only found out about this on April 29, when he was transferred to a hospital in Lviv after being treated at a stabilization center in Kramatorsk, a hospital in Dnipro, and a hospital in Kyiv. The next day, I was in Lviv. Yaroslav was conscious and even recognized me, but he couldn’t speak because his jaw was severely damaged. He underwent a series of surgeries: a plate was inserted into his frontal bone, but he developed brain swelling and the plate had to be removed; the left side of his face was covered with a skin graft from his thigh, and it took well. The plan was to have his jaw reconstructed abroad. For a while, the doctors said his condition was improving, but then Yaroslav began to lose weight rapidly. He spent several weeks in the intensive care unit. He was transferred to Uzhhorod, to the maxillofacial surgery department, where he developed cerebral edema. Then back to Lviv, this time to St. Panteleimon Hospital. There, in the intensive care unit, Yaroslav remained unconscious, and his condition worsened with each passing day.”
On October 26, 2023, Yaroslav Bohdan died from complications resulting from the severe injuries he sustained during the fighting in the Donetsk region. Two days later, he was buried in Kovel; his younger son, Anatoliy, was able to attend the funeral.
I cry in secret at home, but in public I’m always strong
. That same day was her older son Andriy’s birthday. He turned 24—this is already his second birthday in captivity. Svitlana still has no information about her son—where Andriy is serving his sentence, what condition he’s in, or what health issues he may have. Friends, colleagues, and volunteers help the mother of a captive defender of Mariupol keep from falling into despair.
“I love my job; it involves working with children. I’m constantly around people, which helps me take my mind off thoughts of his captivity. I also have my own project through ‘Marlog’ called ‘A Gift Just Because,’ through which I collect food, sweets, and personal hygiene items, and, together with students from the city’s schools, we put together individual care packages for our defenders.
But sometimes my emotions get the better of me, and I might start crying—especially when I hear a sad song or read a heartbreaking post. I do this at home, quietly, so no one sees me. But in public, I’m always strong; I don’t let myself show my weakness. On the contrary—I even try to support others who are going through the same grief as I am: there are still two men from Kovel—members of the Azov Regiment—who are being held captive, and we’re in constant contact with their parents.”
Author: Hanna KURTSANOVSKA
Svitlana’s younger son, Anatoliy, was in Lysychansk when the full-scale war broke out, and he continues to defend the country today. Svitlana’s husband joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the start of the full-scale invasion. On March 16, 2023, he was wounded in battle in the Donetsk region and, sadly, died in the hospital seven months later. Our reporters spoke with Svitlana Bohdan, who raised her sons to be true warriors and who, without exaggeration, can be called a woman of steel.
Both sons became soldiers
Svitlana has been working as a nurse at a lyceum for 28 years. The age difference between her sons is 1.9 years. She could never have imagined that Andriy and Anatoliy, once they grew up, would choose the same path—deliberately becoming soldiers.
“The younger one is 22 now; he’s been serving on a contract basis since October 2020. At the start of the war, Anatoliy was in Lysychansk on his regular rotation, and now he’s involved in ensuring national security and the defense of our homeland. I’m in constant contact with my son—a quick phone call or some text messages. It’s enough for me to know that he’s doing well.”
Patriot and Athlete
Svitlana can tell us more about her older son. All her thoughts right now are on Andriy’s fate. He was the first in the Bohdan family to take up arms—since October 2019, he has served in the ranks of the “Azov” Special Forces Detachment of Military Unit 3057.
“While attending college in our city, Andriy was a blood donor; he actively participated in this social cause through the ‘One Blood—Kovel’ project, and whenever possible, he encouraged Kovel’s youth to join the effort. He also joined the local chapter of the “National Corps” organization, led by Oleksandr Filon, a former “Azov” fighter. After leaving the unit, Oleksandr began rallying like-minded young people around him, took an active part in the life and development of his hometown, and became a coach for “Rukopash Hopak”—which, by the way, is now a national sport.
Andriy enjoyed training at the “SICH” sports club; he traveled to competitions and won. At that time, he became seriously interested in nationalism, read a lot of specialized literature, and engaged in self-development. With the “National Corps,” he traveled to rallies in Lviv and Kyiv, as well as to military-sports camps and national-patriotic education programs.
Andriy traveled to Mariupol several times to visit a friend who served in “Azov.” Ostensibly for a vacation, but in reality, even back then, he was finding out how to join the unit. He trained constantly, improved his physical fitness, ran, and went to the gym. Immediately after graduating from college, he went to Mariupol, where he completed a basic combat training course.
Volunteering Helped Her Keep Her Sanity
With the start of the full-scale invasion, the children from the school where Svitlana worked were sent home, and the school staff took turns on duty.
In early March 2022, a pharmacist she knew asked Svitlana to help sort medicines that were being sent from abroad—and that’s how she joined the team at the international volunteer logistics center “Marlog.” Svitlana would alternate between working shifts at the high school and helping at the volunteer center, where humanitarian aid from Israel was arriving: medical supplies, bandages, surgical kits, individual first-aid kits and their contents, disposable medical clothing, splints, stretchers, gloves, tactical medical supplies, food, animal feed, baby food, sleeping bags, and much more for the military, field hospitals, and regular hospitals.
In the early days, Svitlana’s husband, Yaroslav, also joined the military, inspired by his sons. On February 27, 2022, her husband voluntarily reported to the military registration and enlistment office: first to patrol with the local territorial defense unit, then he went to a training unit, and from there to the front lines.
At that time, Andriy and his comrades were defending Mariupol. He rarely got in touch with his mother: at first, he couldn’t charge his phone, and then he lost it. But whenever he called or texted, he always reassured her that everything was fine with them and asked her not to panic. Along with Andriy were two other comrades from Kovel; usually, whichever one of them was able to get in touch would pass on news about the others.
“Later, Andriy called from a different number. When they got Starlink, he would use his comrades’ phones to post messages on social media or record voice messages. He’s not a man of many words; all his messages were the same—that he was fine and that I shouldn’t worry. He didn’t share anything personal, so I don’t know the details of Andriy’s time in Mariupol and at Azovstal.”
On April 27, 2022, a peaceful rally titled “Save Mariupol” was held in Andriy’s hometown to support the defenders and residents of Mariupol. The rally was joined by the defenders’ families and friends, volunteers, and concerned citizens.
There were many people Svitlana knew at the volunteer center; they knew that her son was in Mariupol, which was surrounded by the Russian army. And everyone supported her. That was exactly what she needed during such a difficult time—to be among people so she wouldn’t be left alone with her sad thoughts.
“When Andriy sent voice messages, we would gather and listen to them together. And we were happy that he was alive and that he was doing well.”
He sent his regards from Olenivka and asked not to ask
any questions On May 15, 2022, a rafting trip down the Stokhid River was organized for the center’s volunteers. Svitlana recalls that the weather was wonderful that day. No cell service, out in nature, far from civilization. Right at the finish line, she saw missed calls from Andriy on Telegram.
“I called him back and still managed to talk to him. My son said he wouldn’t be able to stay in touch for the time being, but we’d definitely see each other soon. After all, they’d been told it would take 3–4 months, and all the fighters would be in government-controlled territory. I really blamed myself then for not being in town and for not being able to record our conversation because of the poor internet connection.”
Andriy left “Azovstal” the next day: on May 16, 2022, the wounded were being evacuated. At the time, his wife didn’t know if Andriy had been wounded. At the end of the month, on Svitlana’s birthday, she received a call from an unknown number. It was Andriy. He quickly wished her a happy birthday. He asked his mother not to ask him any questions. And again—he said everything was fine with him, that they just needed to be patient a little longer, and they would be home.
“In early June 2022, Oleksandr Filon, a friend known as ‘Virnyi’ (Andriy’s coach, a former ‘Azov’ member who joined the Third Assault Brigade after the full-scale invasion began — “Our Own”)—found a video from the prison camp in Olenivka showing Andriy walking in a column of prisoners. We, the relatives of the captured fighters, were already in Telegram groups at that time, where everyone shared whatever information they could find in Russian public channels. Indeed, my son was in the video. I filed a report with the police and attached a screenshot from the video—as evidence of his captivity. I then wrote to the SBU, submitted the information to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, to the Red Cross, and to the National Institute of Biotechnology; the police took DNA samples.”
“Bodko” was forced to confess to crimes: he was sentenced to 25 years
On July 30, 2022, a run in support of prisoners of war was scheduled to take place on Trukhaniv Island in Kyiv. Svitlana was supposed to leave Kovel by train the day before. She recalls how, early that morning, the mother of her comrade Andriy—who was a prisoner of war—called her and told her the news about the explosion in Olenivka.
“I was at work at the time, so I told her I’d read everything when I had a moment. Looking back now, my heart nearly stopped—the Russians were claiming that our forces had allegedly fired HIMARS at the prison camp. But there was no information about the wounded or the dead. I went to Kyiv anyway; instead of the race, a rally was held on St. Sophia Square. There, I met the families of other captured “Azov” fighters.
After a large-scale exchange of officers on September 22, 2022, Svitlana learned from the released fighters that her son was in the Donetsk pretrial detention center at that time. Later, the men who were exchanged on December 31 said they hadn’t seen Andriy since September. For many months, Svitlana knew nothing about her son, and it wasn’t until March 3, 2023, that she saw him on Russian Telegram channels. In the video, he confessed to crimes against civilians.
“Andriy’s comrade-in-arms told me then not to believe a single word, because they were forcing him to say that on camera. And he’s doing this to save his life; otherwise, they’ll torture him. And here’s what’s interesting: Andriy speaks Russian in the video, even though he’s been a native Ukrainian speaker since birth. In other words, he was reading a script written for him in Russian.”
On August 14, 2023, Russian Telegram channels also circulated a video from the courtroom where the verdict was announced: Andriy Bohdan was sentenced to 25 years in a maximum-security prison.
“On the one hand, I was glad to see my son, to know he was alive. But he had changed so much: he was thin—skin and bones—exhausted, unshaven. And I still can’t forget those sad eyes.”
We spoke about the prisoners in Switzerland and Turkey—to no
avail In May, when the penultimate prisoner exchange took place, Svitlana was in Geneva. She joined the civil society organization “Freedom for the Defenders of Mariupol,” whose representatives were there following a visit to Turkey, where they had met with the ambassador. The group of women attended a meeting of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. They also held a series of meetings with representatives of the Office of the Human Rights Commissioner and the International Committee of the Red Cross. In addition, the women took part in a rally in support of the captives.
“I had the opportunity to speak about the fighters of the Mariupol garrison, about their bravery and courage, and about their captivity, which was supposed to last no more than four months. General questions were raised—why our loved ones aren’t being exchanged, how to speed up the exchanges—and we also discussed the conditions of detention for prisoners of war and the fact that ICRC representatives are not allowed access to the detention sites. There, at the UN, they expressed sympathy for us, but said they also had no influence over Russia.
We raised the issue of a third party to which the prisoners could be transferred, where they would be held until the end of hostilities. But, as you can see, all these numerous requests to various organizations and meetings at the international level yielded no results.”
Severe injuries left her husband with no chance of recovery
In October 2023, Svitlana faced a new ordeal: her husband died from his injuries at a hospital in Lviv. Yaroslav was 50 years old.
“In March, he was sent to the Donetsk region; he was last online on March 10, 2023. Before that, he warned that he wouldn’t be in touch for a long time. On March 16, Yaroslav sustained a severe injury—an explosive-induced facial injury. We only found out about this on April 29, when he was transferred to a hospital in Lviv after being treated at a stabilization center in Kramatorsk, a hospital in Dnipro, and a hospital in Kyiv. The next day, I was in Lviv. Yaroslav was conscious and even recognized me, but he couldn’t speak because his jaw was severely damaged. He underwent a series of surgeries: a plate was inserted into his frontal bone, but he developed brain swelling and the plate had to be removed; the left side of his face was covered with a skin graft from his thigh, and it took well. The plan was to have his jaw reconstructed abroad. For a while, the doctors said his condition was improving, but then Yaroslav began to lose weight rapidly. He spent several weeks in the intensive care unit. He was transferred to Uzhhorod, to the maxillofacial surgery department, where he developed cerebral edema. Then back to Lviv, this time to St. Panteleimon Hospital. There, in the intensive care unit, Yaroslav remained unconscious, and his condition worsened with each passing day.”
On October 26, 2023, Yaroslav Bohdan died from complications resulting from the severe injuries he sustained during the fighting in the Donetsk region. Two days later, he was buried in Kovel; his younger son, Anatoliy, was able to attend the funeral.
I cry in secret at home, but in public I’m always strong
. That same day was her older son Andriy’s birthday. He turned 24—this is already his second birthday in captivity. Svitlana still has no information about her son—where Andriy is serving his sentence, what condition he’s in, or what health issues he may have. Friends, colleagues, and volunteers help the mother of a captive defender of Mariupol keep from falling into despair.
“I love my job; it involves working with children. I’m constantly around people, which helps me take my mind off thoughts of his captivity. I also have my own project through ‘Marlog’ called ‘A Gift Just Because,’ through which I collect food, sweets, and personal hygiene items, and, together with students from the city’s schools, we put together individual care packages for our defenders.
But sometimes my emotions get the better of me, and I might start crying—especially when I hear a sad song or read a heartbreaking post. I do this at home, quietly, so no one sees me. But in public, I’m always strong; I don’t let myself show my weakness. On the contrary—I even try to support others who are going through the same grief as I am: there are still two men from Kovel—members of the Azov Regiment—who are being held captive, and we’re in constant contact with their parents.”
This is an automatic translation generated by DeepL.
