Bohdan Ya. Kotsar (Vaitik)

Soldier Bohdan Kotsar (call sign Vaytik) was killed on May 6, 2022, in Mariupol, Donetsk region. A day earlier, during the defense of the city, he sustained serious injuries; the next day, an evacuation vehicle came for him, which was hit by a Russian anti-tank missile. In April, the soldier turned 23 years old. Bohdan was born in the city of Samara in the Dnipropetrovsk region. In 2018, he graduated from the Dnipropetrovsk College of Radioelectronics, where he studied in the Faculty of Computer Systems. After that, he worked as an electrician at the company "Interpipe NMTZ." In 2019, he joined the mandatory military service in the 1st Presidential Brigade, with which he later signed a contract. At the end of 2020, he transferred to a separate special forces unit of the National Guard of Ukraine "Azov." In his free time, he engaged in sports: boxing, workout, and running. He trained a lot and played the guitar. While studying in college, he bought a computer with his own money, earned scholarships, and did some side jobs repairing computers. According to his relatives, he was very positive, responsible, and could not stand injustice. When the full-scale war began, the young man, along with his comrades from the "Azov" special forces, bravely defended Mariupol and carried out all combat missions. He held the position of a grenade launcher. For his honorable service, Bohdan was awarded the medal "For Military Service to Ukraine" and the Order of Courage III degree (posthumously). In his last message to his mother, he wrote: "Alive and healthy, I love you all. To all our friends you see, tell them I love them very much, Dasha too, I have cool in-laws, I love them too, pass that on, and Misha. If you're curious about what I want when I come back, only your baking, grandma's jam, and poppy seed pastries come to mind. I want you to teach me to bake like you, especially apple pies and poppy seed pastries. But in general, the only thing I want is to see you. Tell Dima that I read what he wrote, and tell him that everything will be Ukraine." "I still can't come to terms with the loss. He was the best son, and he left behind the best fiancée who is still waiting for him. My son's motto: 'Better the armor of a warrior than the collar of a slave,'" noted the mother of the fallen soldier, Nadiya Kotsar. The hero was buried in his hometown. Bohdan is survived by his mother and beloved.