On June 24, 2023, Ukraine and the world were shocked by the horrific news: Russian invaders shot 16-year-old Tigran Hovhannisyan and Mykyta Khanganov in occupied Berdyansk. Ukrainian teenagers fought for the liberation of their homeland until their last breath and did not surrender to the enemy even in the face of death.
Points of attention
- The tragic deaths of the teenagers, marked by a video recording and reports of sniper attacks, highlight the brutality of the Russian occupation forces and the sacrifices made by Ukrainian youth in their struggle for freedom.
- The renaming of a street in Zaporizhzhia in honor of Tigran Hovhannisyan and Mykyta Khanganov serves as a lasting tribute to their bravery and determination in the face of adversity.
What is important to know about the feat of Tigran Hovhannisyan and Nikita Khanganov
Not only Ukraine, but also Europe fought to save the young men.
Thus, on the eve of the murder of the teenagers, the European Parliament condemned the Russian occupation forces in the persecution of Tigran Hovhannisyan and Nikita Khanganov.
The boys and their families cherished the hope that this would give them the opportunity to escape from the occupied city, but the occupiers gave the order to execute the young heroes, thus taking revenge on them for their loyalty to their homeland.
It all started on September 30, 2022, when the Russian military kidnapped 16-year-old Tiygran Hovhannisyan, who lived with his grandmother in temporarily occupied Berdyansk.
He said that first they took him out into the field, shot him, and forced him to say goodbye to life. Then he told how they electrocuted him: they put a wet sheet over his head, handcuffed him, and put some wires on him. Tigran said, "Mom, it doesn't hurt, it's just that all your muscles contract and you scream. They forced me to say that I work for the SBU. But I don't work there," the young man's mother said.
After the bullying, Tigran was unexpectedly released, but since then the occupiers have regularly interrogated not only him, but also his classmate Nikita Khanganov, and have searched their homes and demanded that the teenagers record a video of them sabotaging the railway tracks.
On the evening of June 24, 2023, a video recorded by Tigran was published online.
It is unknown where and when the recording was made. It is also unknown to whom the video message was sent and who published it.
In the video, a young man with a machine gun in his hands is sitting on the floor in some room, and there are traces of blood on his fingers.
“Two for sure,” Tigran answers in the video to a question from a person off-screen. It’s impossible to make out what he was asked. After that, he says: “That’s it, this is death, guys. Goodbye.” He clenches his fist in a tactical glove and adds: “Glory to Ukraine.” He was answered, “Glory to the heroes.”
The Ukrainian “Media Initiative for Human Rights” reported that two underage Ukrainian schoolchildren were killed by shots fired by Russian snipers.
Six months after the teenagers' deaths, the Russian occupation authorities have not provided their families with death certificates.
On May 20, 2024, in the city of Zaporizhzhia, part of Lassalle Street was renamed in honor of Tigran Hovhannisyan, and the other part in honor of his friend Mykyta Khanganov.
