Oleksandr V. Kotynin

Senior Lieutenant Bohdan Zaichenko (call sign Professor) died on June 6, 2023, in a hospital in Kurakhove. That day, he sustained severe shrapnel wounds in a battle with the enemy in the area of the village of Shakhtarske in the Donetsk region. He would have turned 28 years old on July 11. Bohdan was born in the settlement of Dykanka, Poltava region. He lived in Poltava since childhood. He studied at school No. 38. In 2015, he graduated from the Poltava College of Food Technologies of the National University of Food Technologies, and later was drafted into the military service. The following year, he participated in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO). In 2019, he graduated from the National University of Food Technologies, and in 2020 - from the Ivan Kozhedub Kharkiv National Air Force University. In his free time, he was engaged in modeling and metal detector searches. He loved Ukraine and studied its history. After graduation, the young officer served in the 1129th Anti-Aircraft Missile Bila Tserkva Regiment of the Air Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He held the position of the head of the anti-aircraft missile battery crew of the anti-aircraft missile division. From the first days of the full-scale invasion, he, along with his comrades-in-arms, defended Ukraine from the occupiers. On October 14, 2022, Bohdan sent the following greeting to the Poltava College, of which he was a graduate: "This year, the holiday has taken on a completely different meaning. And if for someone after 2014, the war and the role of defenders remained abstract, now everyone feels what real struggle means. We all stand for the fact that we can finally return to our native homes, to our families. For our children not to be afraid to look at the sky, to forget the word "war" and hundreds of new terrible words that have appeared in our lives. For the Ukrainian flag to never be thrown away and desecrated. For there to be no more fear in our lives. We are fighting for the truth, for freedom, for Ukraine!" During his service, the defender was awarded the medal "Defender of the Motherland", the Order of Courage of the III degree, and posthumously - the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky of the III degree. "Cheerful, planned his life, always responded to requests for help. He dreamed of buying a house. It will be for his daughter Olya in memory of her father," said the officer's mother, Alina Hryhorivna. "A person of flame! There was enough positivity in him for everyone around him! He loved life very much, dreamed of a lot and planned a lot. But, unfortunately, none of this was destined to come true. Bodya is a hero who returned home on a shield and now, like a guardian angel, continues to cover the sky over us with his wings! The pain of the relatives he left behind is immeasurable! Impossible to calm down! Kotychku, you are forever in my heart," wrote Anastasia Sereda. "Even in his student years, he took an active civic stance, showed exceptional patriotism and love for the Motherland. After graduating, Bohdan took up the defense of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of our state. A true patriot, a faithful son of Ukraine. Such he will remain in our memory forever," added the Poltava College. The hero was buried at the Memorial of the Fallen Defenders of the Zaturynskyi Cemetery in the Poltava region. Bohdan is survived by his parents, sister, daughter, other relatives, friends and comrades-in-arms.