Anatoly
Berezhny

von UKR 2 am 07.07.2022 - 22:53 Uhr | melden

Eleonora Burdina, журналіст
The story of Anatolii Berezhnyi, ukrainian tech specialist who was killed in a mortar shelling in Irpin. He helped civilians evacuate
Anatolii Berezhnyi, a 26-year-old HelpDesk specialist and System Administrator at tech/uklon, was killed on March 6. He was evacuating civilians as a member of a volunteer group. A week before, he had taken his wife to a safe place in the west of the country. He could have stayed there with her, but instead, he rushed back to help others. Enemy fire ended his life when he was helping a local woman and her children get to a rescue bus. We interviewed Tolik’s family, friends, and co-workers to tell his story.

Life in Severodonetsk
Anatolii Berezhnyi was born in Severodonetsk, Luhansk Region. He was the fourth of six children and grew up in a religious family. Anatolii’s father is a private entrepreneur and runs an international shipping business. His mother took care of the children and household.
Tolik attended a school with advanced foreign language training. According to his younger sister Olha Bilous, he was the most responsible child. He was diligent, fond of studying—especially, English and German,—and would start doing his homework on his own. As a kid, he had an unusual hobby of impersonating people. Also, he attended a musical school and played saxophone and clarinet.
“We are a very talented family in this sense. Generally, we are alike in pairs. Tolik is most like his older sister Tetiana in appearance (both have green eyes) and character, being perfectionist and independent. From our very childhood, our parents have instilled in us Christian values and taught us to work hard. We have always helped one another and loved our Homeland”, says Olha.

Статті · 13 квітня, 10:00 14627

Eleonora Burdina, журналіст
The story of Anatolii Berezhnyi, ukrainian tech specialist who was killed in a mortar shelling in Irpin. He helped civilians evacuate
Anatolii Berezhnyi, a 26-year-old HelpDesk specialist and System Administrator at tech/uklon, was killed on March 6. He was evacuating civilians as a member of a volunteer group. A week before, he had taken his wife to a safe place in the west of the country. He could have stayed there with her, but instead, he rushed back to help others. Enemy fire ended his life when he was helping a local woman and her children get to a rescue bus. We interviewed Tolik’s family, friends, and co-workers to tell his story.
Life in Severodonetsk
Anatolii Berezhnyi was born in Severodonetsk, Luhansk Region. He was the fourth of six children and grew up in a religious family. Anatolii’s father is a private entrepreneur and runs an international shipping business. His mother took care of the children and household.
Tolik attended a school with advanced foreign language training. According to his younger sister Olha Bilous, he was the most responsible child. He was diligent, fond of studying—especially, English and German,—and would start doing his homework on his own. As a kid, he had an unusual hobby of impersonating people. Also, he attended a musical school and played saxophone and clarinet.
“We are a very talented family in this sense. Generally, we are alike in pairs. Tolik is most like his older sister Tetiana in appearance (both have green eyes) and character, being perfectionist and independent. From our very childhood, our parents have instilled in us Christian values and taught us to work hard. We have always helped one another and loved our Homeland”, says Olha.
In 2013, Anatolii graduated from school and went to Volodymyr Dahl East Ukrainian National University tuition-free. He chose the IT department because he had been passionate about computers since childhood. When the war broke out one year after, the Berezhnyi family did not leave their home and tried to help as best they could.
In 2019, Tolik graduated with honors and went to work in computer systems at the State Tax Service. While studying at the university, he met his future wife.
“I was organizing an International Women’s Day celebration in our mutual group of friends,” Diana Berezhna recalls, “We had been acquainted but only started talking to each other when Tolik asked to send him photos from the event. Since then, we had been talking for days on end. Two months later, he confessed his feelings, and I understood they were perfectly mutual”.
In another two months, Anatolii proposed to the girl and married her after nine months of preparations, on April 20, 2019.
“We had real love, love at first sight that started with instant realization and understanding. It was a lifelong choice without a doubt, without a single sidestep—such faithfulness to each other. Tolik was very caring and supported me in everything. He inspired me and carried me in his arms. I could not believe a love like this could exist. I was afraid for the people who might never experience such a love”.
Moving to Irpin
In the fall of 2020, Tolia and Diana decided to move to Irpin.
“Our mother unexpectedly died from COVID in October,” Tolia’s sister says, “It was hard for all family members to take”.
Diana begged Anatolii to delay the move, but, eventually, the scheduled date was pushed back by only a week. Tolik accepted the passing of his mother with fortitude and grace. He cherished the memory of her, but the decision about the move had been made while she was still alive.