Andrii V. Bieliaiev (Bilyi)

Senior Lieutenant Andrii Bieliayev (call sign Bilyi) was killed on February 15, 2024, while carrying out a combat mission near the village of Verbove in the Zaporizhzhia region. As a result of an attack by enemy drones with a grenade drop system, he received a large number of shrapnel wounds. The officer was 40 years old. Andrii was born in the city of Pyatykhatky, Dnipropetrovsk region. He graduated from the Institute of Economics at Dnipropetrovsk National University. After getting married, he moved to Lviv. He held the position of regional manager at the company "Star Brands". He loved to read. He was interested in fishing and promised his son that when he returned from the war, they would go fishing together. During the full-scale Russian invasion, on March 1, 2022, the man joined the National Guard of Ukraine. He served in the 14th Brigade of Operational Designation "Chervona Kalyna". He held the position of deputy commander of the company. "My husband was a man with a capital letter and a big heart, open to everyone. He was always ready to come to the aid of loved ones and friends. He found a way out of any situation. With him, I was not afraid of anything, I was 'with' my husband. For me, he was like the air, without which a person cannot live. My soul. When Andrii was gone, at that very moment, a part of me was gone too. Reliable, gentle, loving son, husband and father. Forever in our hearts and in our memory," shared Roksolana Bieliaieva. "This is a very heavy loss, I have watched the video of his death a hundred times and every time I realize that our Andrii could have been saved, but he thought about his comrades-in-arms until the last, whom he was withdrawing from the position. If we could turn back time, I think he would still not have acted differently. An honest, decent person, a real man and a son of his country. Our sincere friend, I am grateful to you for your courage, humanity and fearless heart that stopped for our future. Forever in our thoughts. Eternal memory to you, Hero!" added the best friend of the deceased, Yulia Florentsya. Andrii is survived by his mother Valentyna, wife Roksolana, daughter Eva, son Demian, sister with her family, a large family, friends, colleagues and comrades-in-arms.