Missing in action – this terrible phrase has ruined thousands of Ukrainian lives. Countless Ukrainian families believe that one day their husbands, fathers, brothers, sisters, mothers, friends who disappeared during the full-scale invasion will return. They believe despite the fact that, according to all objective evidence, there is little chance of their return.
…
In May 2024, the Ministry of Digital Transformation published data that 52,673 Ukrainians have been missing since February 24, 2022. Of these, 68.5% went missing under special circumstances, i.e. because of hostilities, temporary occupation or natural disasters. The largest number of missing persons was recorded in March 2022 – 3,975 people.
It was in the spring of 2022 that Andriy Khriakov, a defender from Sloviansk, went missing somewhere near Rubizhne, the Luhansk region. We talked to his younger brother Serhiy about how it happened, how the family found out all the circumstances of the tragedy, what kind of person Andriy was, and how he joined the army.
Andriy Khriakov graduated from the Donbas State Engineering Academy (DSEA) in Kramatorsk. He combined his studies with work in the student media group “Academy” at the DSEA, where he made radio broadcasts and wrote for a newspaper. After graduation, he worked for a private company, where he developed 3D jewelry models. Although he and Serhiy were both private people, they had a close relationship.
Outwardly, Andriy gave the impression of a detached, always focused and collected person guided by practical calculation. Black clothes, always in a heavy leather jacket and high boots with tractor soles completed the impression.
However, his friends and brother also remember his other side – the one who cared for his family and friends, taught younger colleagues, came to help even late at night. Andriy and Serhiy took care of each other. But it so happened that Andriy was always in charge in the family and took responsibility for key decisions. Not least because their father left the family and went to Russia before the full-scale invasion.
“He was very sensitive to injustice and things that don’t work the way they should. Probably, that’s why he went to defend the country,” Serhiy says.
In his free time, Andriy read books, listened to all kinds of music, took an interest in Norse mythology, went to concerts of his favorite bands, learned languages, went to the movies, and loved going to the countryside with a large group of friends.
***
Serhiy and his brother didn’t talk much about the war with Russia, which was raging in the East of Ukraine before 2022.
When the war was at the ATO/JFO stage, Andriy voluntarily studied at the military department in Sumy to become an artilleryman. He had the rank of junior lieutenant.
In the weeks before full-scale war, the brothers never discussed the increasingly electrifying situation.
But when Putin issued a decree to incorporate the so-called “DNR” and “LNR” into Russia, it became clear that war was inevitable. Andriy talked to his mother more and discussed with her what would be the right thing to do. He had a clear intention to defend the country. His mother blessed him, and Andriy was mobilized on the first days of the call-up, as he had graduated from the military department and was in the first line.
Sergey volunteered on February 28, 2022. Both of them got into the military unit 3035 of the National Guard, 15th Regiment. Andriy was assigned to a reserve company, and Serhiy joined the Donbas Special Forces battalion as a rifleman.
When Serhiy learned that his brother was not immediately sent to the front line, he calmed down for a while. However, a reserve company is a formation used to reinforce other units in case of losses. That’s exactly what happened during the battles near Rubizhne. Andriy was among the first from his unit to voluntarily go there to replace those who died, were wounded or captured. Although, according to his military specialization, he was supposed to be somewhere in the artillery and hold the position of department commander, platoon commander, political instructor, etc. However, even before the full-scale war, Andriy admitted that his training at the military department was unskilled, so he did not demand any positions.
“As far as he told me, he didn’t receive qualified training at the military department. And when the war broke out, he didn’t feel like he knew what to do. He had to learn everything again, but in combat conditions. And in this regard, we were on equal footing.
He was very fond of shooting since childhood, and even had an app on his phone, where he had to assemble and disassemble weapons by details. And training to be an artilleryman – they never even fired a gun back then,” Serhiy recalls.
As far as he knows, at the time of the battles for Rubizhne, his brother went through several rotations there. The first didn’t last very long, the second was already longer. Serhiy was in the vicinity of Kreminna – it isn’t far away.
“Perhaps he hoped to get somewhere closer to me. When it all happened, I blamed myself for not doing anything to keep him close to me,” the boy chastises himself.
In March-April 2022, the Russians were knocked out from the North of Ukraine, but the occupiers’ forces were growing in the East. Both brothers repelled Russian assaults. Serhiy recalls:
“I remember it was April 16. We were texting and warned each other that we might be out of touch for a while.
The last message from him was that the phone was running out of juice and the secret chat was down and that we might not be able to get in touch for a few days. It was April 19. And since April 21, he has been officially reported missing.”
Since Andriy disappeared, his Telegram account has been deleted, but the last message remains.
***
After Andriy disappeared, the unit conducted an official investigation. Serhiy talked to a guy who was with his older brother. He said that Andriy had been wounded during an enemy assault by grenade shrapnel.
Andriy’s comrade told him that he had begun to climb the ladder, either to an attic or the second floor (Serhiy didn’t understand), but then he began to slide down the ladder because he was wounded. But the man didn’t say what kind of wound it was.
Andriy did not retreat and remained in his position. According to his comrade, the boy was very seriously wounded, and couldn’t be helped. So his comrade took out another wounded machine gunner, and Andriy was left behind.
Two more guys who were with Andriy hid in the basement, later their names appeared in the lists of prisoners. Andriy has never been on these lists. It is also impossible to establish the fact of his death, since it requires three witnesses to confirm it. And the last time he was seen alive, although badly wounded.
After the defender disappeared, his brother and mother turned to various organizations and official bodies engaged in searching for missing persons and clarifying information about them. In particular, they filed a statement with the police, appealed to the Ombudsman’s Office and to the bodies that deal with prisoners’ release. Recently, Serhiy had his DNA tested to establish family ties in case his older brother’s body is handed over.
Andriy’s mother and brother refuse to believe that he is dead. So they regularly update his information. Serhiy doesn’t know how much longer he may remain in the missing person status. But he says that in some time he will still have to be declared dead if he is not found alive or dead.
The family hasn’t applied for any benefits, but they still receive half of Andriy’s salary as a missing person. Why a half? Because, according to the law, the salary of a missing defender is equally divided between the father and the mother.
Serhiy advises other people who find themselves in a similar situation to act independently and not to wait for the authorities to take up the case of a missing person. To get assistance, you must contact the military unit. If you know that a person has died, but is considered missing, you have to find his or her comrades who were with him or her so that they can testify in court. You have to talk to the commander. You should contact only official bodies and organizations searching for prisoners, dead and missing persons. Otherwise, there is a risk of running into fraudsters who profit from other people’s misfortune.
“No matter how much you want your family member to return, there is hardly any person who knows about their whereabouts, but they do not know about it at the official level. You should not fall for the offers of people who say that they will get your relative out for five thousand dollars,” Serhiy warns.
What helps him to survive the tragedy is the awareness that he has to take care of his mother, because Andriy did a lot for her and was closer to her. Taking care of his wife and son, who was also named Andriy, also helps:
“The family you have to take care of helps. And you can’t allow yourself to lose heart. There is also the desire to liberate all the territories and, finally, find out, learn – I have to know one hundred percent that he’s either dead or alive. I must know that. I must know what happened then. Now I cannot go to the last place where Andriy was. But one day I will.”
Author: Victoria Poverzhuk
Supported by the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine. The views of the authors do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Government.