In memory of cameraman and Territorial Defense Forces sergeant Oleksii Andreiev (callsign “Koval”)

Oleksii  Andreiev was born and raised in Mariupol, where he spent his childhood and youth. In 2014, he lived through the occupation of his hometown and its liberation by Ukrainian forces. Later, he moved to his wife’s hometown of Chernivtsi. It was from there, on 25 February 2022, that he joined the ranks of the Territorial Defense Forces. During one of the missions in the Bakhmut sector, communication with Oleksii’s group was lost. For almost a year, he was considered missing in action. Later, DNA analysis confirmed the death of the Ukrainian soldier. His wife, Nataliia Ikim, recalls that she met her future husband while they were both studying directing at the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts.

“He was unconventional, loved heavy rock, and played the drums in one of Mariupol’s bands. Later, he suffered multiple arm fractures and stopped playing. When we met, he had long blond hair, wore jeans, rock T-shirts, and army boots. He knew rock music very well. He made a good impression on me back then,” she recalls. 

According to her, Oleksii already had a technical education at that time and had worked at one of the industrial enterprises, but realized that it was not for him. In 1991, he completed his compulsory military service, received the rank of sergeant during Ukraine’s independence, and took the oath of allegiance to the Ukrainian people. He later admitted that the oath was not just empty words for him, and even before the full-scale invasion and joining the Armed Forces, he had been morally prepared for it in advance. While still studying, Oleksii and Nataliia decided to live in the capital. They worked at the film studio of their directing mentor, Oleksandr Stoliarov, while also completing their university studies.

“Our mentor noticed that Oleksii was more suited to camera work. He could see things that ordinary people did not notice. Above all, Oleksii had an eye for people and loved observing their behavior. He was particularly good at shooting genre scenes, capturing unique frames,” his wife says.

A few years later, the studio in Kyiv closed, and the couple decided to move to Mariupol. Oleksii  Andreiev worked as a cameraman at the Sigma television company, while Nataliia was a director at the MTB TV channel.

Later, she was forced to move to Chernivtsi to care for her sick father, who at that time was living alone. Meanwhile, Oleksii also had ill parents in Mariupol, and he stayed with them. When the occupation of Mariupol took place, followed by its liberation, Oleksii  Andreiev was at the epicenter of all the important events in the city. 

“He told me how, during one of the shoots at those rallies, he spoke with Russian provocateurs. They were specially trained people, shouting anti-Ukrainian slogans. He saw it all, filmed it, and took these events very much to heart, as he had been a patriot of Ukraine since childhood. Once, armed men who identified themselves as members of the so-called  Donetsk People’s Republic burst into their studio. They threatened the staff, effectively took them hostage, and demanded to be put on live air to announce that ‘the government had changed.’ As a cameraman, Oleksii was forced to broadcast them live, but fortunately, no one was harmed,” Nataliia recalls. 

Oleksii also filmed the entry of Ukrainian heavy equipment into the city. He was slightly hit by debris at the time, but escaped injury.

After the city’s liberation,  Andreiev repeatedly went on assignments to the front line, coming under fire. During one such shoot, he met the commander of the Azov Regiment, Andrii Biletskyi, and tentatively agreed to join the unit as a soldier.

“He had a very sick mother at the time, whom he loved more than anything in the world. She was almost completely blind. And when his father learned of his intention, he said that such a decision would immediately kill his mother. Oleksii then decided to abandon the idea. When he finally moved in with me in Chernivtsi after his parents’ death, he immediately said, ‘When something bigger starts, I will go fight.’ That was back in 2017. He already knew then that sooner or later there would be a full-scale Russian offensive,” Nataliia recalls.

At 5 a.m. on 24 February 2022, Oleksii received a call from a friend in Mariupol. He told him that a full-scale war had begun and that enemy tanks had entered the city. The next day, Oleksii  Andreiev joined the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The training lasted for quite some time; he was being prepared for reconnaissance. However, due to a shortage of sergeants at the front, Oleksii was transferred to a position in the 107th Territorial Defense Brigade. He chose the callsign “Koval.”

“It was his mother’s maiden name. In this way, Oleksii believed that even after she died in 2016, his mother would protect him at the front. But that talisman did not work for long…,” his wife recalls through tears. After their unit was redeployed to the Kharkiv sector, near the border with Russia, Oleksii’s position was shelled by two enemy tanks. The blast wave threw him onto planks; he suffered a severe spinal contusion, a concussion, and broken ribs. For some time, Oleksii went home for treatment and rehabilitation, and later rejoined his comrades.

In the autumn of that year, their unit was moved to the Bakhmut sector. There, during one of the enemy assaults, contact with Oleksii’s group was lost. For almost a year, there was no information about him, and he was considered missing in action. There was hope that Oleksii and his comrades had been taken prisoner. However, forensic examination confirmed a DNA match with one of the bodies that had been repatriated from Russia.

“Oleksii wrote music, short stories, and lyrics for songs. This was what he did in his free time. He was a creative person, loved to draw. He had a delicate inner nature and could not hurt people. He was a dignified man who knew how to love. He loved his parents, he loved his country, he loved me… And when he loved, he loved fully,” the soldier’s wife adds.

Oleksii  Andreiev was buried on 2 November 2024 in the Alley of Glory at the Central Cemetery of Chernivtsi. In 2025, Oleksii  Andreiev was posthumously awarded the honorary award for Services to Bukovyna. His wife, Nataliia Ikim, and his friend and colleague, Maks Hrabovskyi, plan to publish the songs created by Oleksii to preserve the music that filled him every day.

Glory and honor to the Hero!

Photos provided by the wife of the fallen soldier