Hennadii Afanasiev — a Soldier from Crimea and Former Political Prisoner Who Gave His Life Defending Ukraine

Hennadii Afanasiev was a soldier from Crimea and a former political prisoner who was killed while defending Ukraine in the Luhansk region. His life stands as a testament to resilience, responsibility, and devotion to his country.

Today, he cannot celebrate his birthday — Russia took his life in December 2022. Yet even after his death, Hennadii remains a voice of freedom, reminding us that the struggle of Ukrainians for liberty continues and cannot be silenced by violence or occupation.

In 2014, the Russian authorities unlawfully arrested Hennadii Afanasiev, accusing him of “terrorism.” After two years in captivity, he was released as part of a prisoner exchange. He returned to Ukraine with his health severely damaged — Russian security officers had systematically tortured him with electric shocks, beatings, threats, and psychological pressure.

After his release, Afanasiev could no longer return to his native Simferopol. Having moved to Kyiv, he began advocacy work — he became a special representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine for political prisoners, supported the families of those illegally detained by the occupiers, and launched, at his own expense, a reintegration program for veterans of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO). Thanks to his initiative, more than two hundred veterans acquired new professions and opportunities to return to civilian life.

From 2016 to 2018, Hennadii worked as a journalist for ʼʼCrimea.Realitiesʼʼ and published over 80 columns recounting his experience in a Russian prison. Based on these articles, he wrote a book titled Rising After the Fall, published in 2018.

Following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Hennadii volunteered to join the 130th Territorial Defense Battalion. On 18 December 2022, he was killed near Bilohorivka. His wife, Liudmyla, recalls that his greatest dream was a free Ukraine. His mother, Olha, adds that since his youth, her son had dreamed of seeing Crimea liberated from the occupiers and had helped the military from the very first days of the peninsula’s occupation.

Hennadii Afanasiev is a symbol of the struggle for the freedom of Ukrainian political prisoners still held by Russia today. In 2025, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded him the title Hero of Ukraine. His story reminds us that the fight for the liberation of Crimea continues — and that Hennadii’s path is the story of a man who defended dignity and freedom until his last breath.