On Monday, October 23, Lviv will say goodbye to three servicemen. Nazariy Andrushkiv, Pavlo Plyusnin, Oleksandr Leshchenko died at the hands of the Russian occupiers while defending Ukraine. The City Hall calls on Lviv residents and guests to join the city’s farewell ceremony and to refrain from entertainment events and celebrations during this time.
At 09:30 in the Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist in the city of Vinnyki (Halytska St., 61), a funeral prayer and farewell to Nazarii Andrushkiv will be held.
The funeral of Nazariy Andrushkiv, Pavel Plyusnin and Oleksandr Leshchenko will begin at 11:00 a.m. in the Garrison Church of Sts. App. Peter and Paul. At 11:30 a city farewell ceremony will be held on Rynok Square.
The soldiers will be buried at the Lychakiv cemetery.
Biographical references of defenders
Pavlo Plyusnin (June 29, 1992-October 13, 2023) from Lviv.
Studied at Lyceum No. 6 of the Lviv City Council. He received his education at the State Educational Institution “Lviv Higher Vocational Polytechnic School” with the specialty “Electrician”.
In peacetime, he worked in the field of transportation, later, together with his friends, he started his own business installing ventilation and air conditioning systems. He was interested in cars, he liked to spend his free time repairing them. He was extremely sociable and had a great desire to help everyone.
With the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, he volunteered to defend the Motherland. He defended the territorial integrity and independence of the state on the hottest areas of the front as part of the 53rd separate mechanized brigade named after Prince Volodymyr Monomakh of the operational command “East” of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Despite the fact that he was wounded twice, he returned to the front line each time. During the execution of combat tasks, he proved himself as a brave and selfless soldier.
Pavlo Plyusnin is survived by his parents, sister and nephew.
Nazariy Andrushkiv (20.08.1990-18.10.2023) A native of the village of Kozova, Ternopil region.
Lived in the city of Vinnyky. He studied at the Koziv Lyceum named after Volodymyr Hereta (then the Koziv State Ukrainian Gymnasium). He graduated from the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv with a degree in “historian-archaeologist”, and also obtained a law degree. He was the master of sports of Ukraine in horting and an active participant in marathons in Lviv.
Before the war, he worked as an inspector of the tactical police unit.
From the first days of the full-scale invasion, together with units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, he performed combat tasks for the defense and liberation of Kyiv region. Subsequently, he fought against the Russian occupiers on the territory of the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions. At the end of 2022, he defended the state on the eastern front. Died as a result of wounds received during enemy artillery fire.
For his personal contribution to the strengthening of law and order and the protection of the Motherland, he was repeatedly recognized at the local and state levels, in particular, with the Honorary Badge of the Chief of the General Staff-Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine “Glory and Honor”.
Nazarii Andrushkiv is survived by his parents, wife and two small children.
Oleksandr Leshchenko (11.11.1990-18.10.2023) A native of the city of Pryluka, Chernihiv region.
He was educated at the Prylutsk Hydromelioration Technical School (today Prylutsk Technical Vocational College), later he entered the National University of Bioresources and Nature Management of Ukraine.
After completing his studies, he lived in many cities of Ukraine, and in 2018 he moved to Lviv, where he met his future wife. It was Lviv that became for Oleksandr Leshchenko the home where he wanted to live and where he stayed forever.
In peacetime, he first worked as a manager of “ROZETKA” stores, then created Ukrainian-language content on the “Twitch” and “YouTube” platforms.
Work was the greatest passion of his life – the basis of his live broadcasts was live communication with hundreds of people in the chat. Despite the fact that at first the channel was exclusively entertaining, with the beginning of the war – turned it into a platform for large gatherings in support of the Armed Forces and affected citizens.
Oleksandr Leshchenko always believed that he was not doing enough, and made the decision to voluntarily defend the state from the invaders. Performed combat missions on the territory of Kharkiv and Donetsk regions as part of the 3rd separate assault brigade of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, formed on the basis of the “Azov” unit.
According to relatives and friends, Oleksandr Leshchenko was an exceptional person: he had “a fervent love for life, a laugh that was adored by everyone, childlike sincerity and, at the same time, firmness of views, justice and straightforwardness.” He “united and inspired people around him; was the hope that the long-awaited “after victory” would come, that everything would be fine.
The Hero is survived by his wife, aunts, cousins and a sister.