UKRAINE MOURNS SERHIY “BORTSUKHA”—A DEFENDER WHO RODE TOWARD THE BATTLE FOR KYIV
Ukraine has lost Serhiy “Bortsukha,” one of the experienced warriors who stood between the Russian invasion force and Kyiv during the most dangerous opening days of the full-scale war.
In March 2022, Bortsukha was photographed riding a bicycle toward Irpin carrying an RPG-7 and three rockets. Russian armored columns were advancing through Hostomel, Bucha and Irpin toward the capital. While thousands fled in the opposite direction, he rode toward them.
At a time when Ukraine urgently needed experienced leaders to guide newly mobilized defenders, Bortsukha did not hesitate. He led through action, becoming an inspiration to his fellow soldiers and a role model for those entering a war they had never expected to fight.
Bortsukha served with the Tengri sniper group of Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence and later commanded a marine unit. His path carried him from the defense of Kyiv through some of the fiercest battles of the war.
His death in a Russian airstrike was announced earlier this month. Behind him remains a record of service that cannot be measured only by the enemies his unit stopped, but by the Ukrainian lives and cities those actions helped protect.
The warrior from that unforgettable photograph is gone, but what the image represents will remain: one man, one bicycle and one weapon moving toward a Russian army that believed Kyiv would fall within days.
May Serhiy “Bortsukha” rest in peace.
Eternal memory. Glory to the Hero.