Killed on the battlefield, covering his comrades from the Armed Forces: the story of the Hero of Ukraine Bohdan Leshchynin
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the troops of the Russian Federation, all the defense forces of our state have been brought into full combat readiness. The personnel of the 4th Brigade of the Operational Task Force named after the Hero of Ukraine Sergeant Sergei Mikhalchuk of the National Guard of Ukraine immediately joined the defense of their native land. Even on the eve of the Rascist invasion, some of the fighters went to the defense of the eastern borders to the Luhansk region. The rest were in a permanent deployment point in Gostomel, where already in the first days of the war the “fraternal people” committed such calamities that even in a terrible dream could not have dreamed of. 39-year-old Lieutenant Colonel Bohdan Leshchyshyn headed the labor protection service of the compound. But despite the headquarters position, he was by no means a “parquet” officer.
Bohdan from a young age dreamed of becoming a military man, like his godfather. When the question arose of choosing an educational institution, he entered the Military Institute of Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine (now the National Academy of the National Guard of Ukraine) and in 2005 graduated with a specialty “Cars and Automotive”.
The first place of service of the officer was the 1st Regiment of Protection of Particularly Important State Objects stationed in Dnipro. In 2010, the serviceman was transferred to the VV Training Center, located in the city of Zolochiv, very near his native village Dusan Peremyshlyansk district of Lviv region. Here passed, perhaps, his happiest years: it happened with both his career and his personal life. In 2013, the guard married, and in three years the long-awaited daughter Martha was born. But the happiness of the young family, like millions of Ukrainians, was destroyed by the aggression of the Russian Federation, which annexed Crimea, contributed to the creation of quasi-republics in the Donbas and deprived us of peaceful existence for many years. Bohdan went to the forefront already in May 2014.
He was in the very hell of an undeclared war, returned home alive and well, and at the end of the year his wife Mary prayed again, waiting for her protector. Even knowing that Bohdan is an experienced officer, a wonderful professional who knows how to act in any extreme situation, the woman, of course, was worried. But she was also proud of him — too, when in November 2018, having successfully passed a difficult selection, Bohdan Leshchyshyn was included in the lists of personnel of the 4th Brigade of the Operational Assignment of NGU. Having just learned about the formation of the union, the officer was eager to join his ranks, so the whole family was glad that the dream of the husband and father had come true. Leshchyshyn moved to Gostomel — a picturesque and cozy town in Kyiv region. No one could have imagined that one day the war would get here.
When at 5.00 a.m. on February 24, 2022, Putin's occupation forces subjected Gostomel to rocket-bomb attacks and began an airborne landing at the Antonov International Cargo Airport, the personnel of the brigade remaining at its base, including Lieutenant Colonel Leshchin, men repelled enemy attacks. The invaders threw huge reserves of manpower, weapons and equipment in the direction of Kiev. At the cost of extraordinary efforts, courage and courage of our defenders, the capital was defended. On March 12, Bohdan Leshchyshyn led the armored group of the brigade, which was to act together with the units of the 72nd separate mechanized brigade named after the Black Zaporozhts of the Armed Forces, advancing in the direction of the village Huta-Mezhygorskaya Vyshhorod district.
We received the usual combat task for front-line times - to unite, to consolidate on the specified border, to deploy platoon strongholds and not to miss the enemy further. As the column moved, the enemy made an attempt to break through the defensive line through a massive artillery barrage involving three tanks, five infantry fighting vehicles, and a close company of manpower. Lieutenant Colonel Leshchyshyn decided to mislead the enemy. After changing the route of movement, he determined convenient firing positions for his subordinates in order to provide cover for the main columns of the 72nd Brigade and give armed resistance to the enemy.
Already in the first minutes of the battle, three Russian BMPs and about a platoon of infantry were destroyed. Having determined the location of the guards, the occupiers opened fire in return. Lieutenant Colonel Leshchyshyn suffered a shrapnel wound to his hip, but refused to evacuate and continued to command the unit. In the conditions of a difficult combat situation, despite the pain and blood loss, the commander was able to determine and analyze the direction of movement of the main forces of the enemy and outline safe routes for the units of the Armed Forces.
At this time, the enemy shell hit the positions of the guards, Bohdan suffered a acupuncture injury, but continued to lead his squad and adjust the fire of his subordinates. The desperate resistance of a handful of brave men made the Rashists quite angry — soon the positions of the Gostomel guards were covered by volleys of enemy “Grad”. Lieutenant Colonel Leshchyshyn received new wounds, but with the last strength he tried to retain consciousness, determine the coordinates of the deployment of forces and means of the enemy, and transfer them to the senior commander for fire defeat of adjacent artillery units.
... His wounds were too severe. The officer died on the battlefield as a real hero. On March 24, 2022, Lieutenant Colonel Bogdan Leshchyshyn with military honors was spent on the last journey in his native village. His wife and daughter, who will be six years old in June this year, were disappointed. Unfortunately, the father will no longer be able to hug and congratulate his child, and say how much he loves her...
“Thank God for a happy life with Bohdan, he became for me a lover, a friend, and for everyone...”, - says Maria Leshchyshyn.
For personal courage and heroism in the defense of the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, selfless service to the Ukrainian people, by the Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 275/2022 dated April 25, 2022, Lieutenant Colonel Bohdan Leshchyshyn was awarded the title Hero of Ukraine with the award of the Order “Golden Star” (posthumously)
Press Service of the National Guard of Ukraine
