Andrii B. Kozyr

Serviceman Andriy Kozyr was killed on March 29, 2022 while performing a combat mission near the city of Popasna in Luhansk region. The defender was 49 years old. Andriy Kozyr was born in the village of Shevchenkove in the Kharkiv region. He had a secondary education. After getting married, he lived in the neighboring village of Groza. He worked as a general laborer in the local road service and was engaged in meat sales. Later, he went to Poland, where he worked in construction. His family also moved there. At the beginning of the full-scale war, Andriy was with his family in Poland. He told his relatives that he could not stand aside and decided to return to Ukraine. His son Denys went with him. Both began to defend the country. Andriy Kozyr served in the ranks of the 53rd separate mechanized brigade. During one of the assaults on enemy combat positions, he was fatally wounded. Denys Kozyr continued to serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine for about 1.5 years, and then was discharged due to health reasons. "Andriy was very stylish, with his own, unique sense of humor. He wanted to meet old age in Groza. He invested a lot in his 'little house for old age', as he jokingly called it. Because he wanted to build a garage, make a good renovation at home and provide for the family. Everyone who knows the Kozyr family can say that these people are very devoted, kind and generous. Their holiday tables were always full of food and drinks, they loved guests and meetings with friends," wrote the deceased's son's friend Oleksandr Dolhanin. The fallen hero was first buried in the Dnipropetrovsk region, as his native village was occupied at the time. On October 5, 2023, Andriy's family decided to rebury him in Groza. After the funeral ceremony, almost all the soldier's relatives, friends, and acquaintances went to a local cafe for a memorial lunch. As soon as they sat down at the table, a Russian missile hit the building. This shelling claimed the lives of more than 50 people. The closest relatives of Andriy Kozyr, three generations of his family, perished.