Oleksandr Andriiashev was born on September 25, 1986 in Rivne City.

He was an active participant of Revolution of Dignity and spent 5 months at the Euromaidan in Kyiv.

Right after the Maidan, Oleksandr was enlisted in Aidar Battalion as an “Afgan” company machine-gunner. He gained his battle experience right there as he had never served in the army before. On August 12, 2014 he went to the battlefield for the first time. Oleksandr fought in battles near Luhansk airport (Khriashchuvate, Novosvitlivka) where he was shell-shocked.

After one year he went out of the service. He became a volunteer and constantly was taking voluntary trips to the front line. Oleksandr was a head of NGO “Anti-Terrorism Operation (ATO), Ukrainian Military Organisation (UMO) and field action participants union of Rivne City”. He worked and studied at the same time. In 2016 Oleksandr graduated from National University of Water and Environmental Engineering. He was specialized in ecology.

Oleksandr drowned in the Dnipro River during Aidar Battalion Afgan company veterans’ time off in Hydropark in Kyiv on August 19, 2017.

Oleksandr Andriiashev is buried in Rivne on the Heroes Alley of “Nove” (“Molodizhne”) Cemetery. Oleksandr had a younger brother and a mother who is a person with disabilities

Memories

Mother

He was the best son in the word. Oleksandr was really smart and always curious about everything. When he was one year and two months old, I started to teach him letters, when he was two years old, he already knew all of them and when he was four, he could read. When Oleksandr was four and a half his dream of having a toy, gun came true. After 15 minutes of play he took his toy to pieces and wanted to figure out how does it shoot. He studied at school No. 18. Oleksandr was a great student. When he got a little bit older, he began to help us around the household.  He could do anything and was a great role model to his younger brother. After finishing school, he studied at National University of Water and Environmental Engineering at the Ecology and Natural Resources Management Faculty. Oleksandr was a businessman. He took part in Orange Revolution because he believed that it is possible to change the way of living of Ukraine for better.  He was a real patriot. Since he was a child, he liked to sing a Ukrainian song “For Ukraine, for its freedom, for honor, glory and nation” with his father.   Oleksandr rarely visited us, from December 12 till the victory he was at the Maidan.

He enlisted right after the Maidan. He never told me that. He did not want me to worry. He was telling me that he worked near Kyiv. When he was visiting us, he was putting his civvies on. During his time in ATO he was shell-shocked and wounded but he did not pay attention to it because he had to fight.

That night when Sasha was returning home, he called me and said: “Sorry mum, I had been lying to you. I had been at the war.” My son is my honor and my love.  He was a head of “UMO” organization, a member of lustration committee and a volunteer. He often took voluntary trips to the East.

For his contribution in ATO Oleksandr was awarded with the Order “For Courage” III class. He died tragically and I lost my last hope I lost everything.  My son, God rest your soul! …

Oleksandr Andriiashev (08.25.1986 – 08.19.2017)