The entire village of Chornyi Potik bowed their heads in tribute to the sacrifice of the 53-year-old staff sergeant. The soldier had been defending the southern front since 2022 and was killed while carrying out a combat mission.
The Chornyi Potik village council district of the Irshava City Territorial Community bid farewell to its brave defender “on the battlefield.” On Sunday, November 8, in the village of Chornyi Potik, hundreds of fellow villagers, comrades-in-arms, and clergymen bid a final farewell to the brave soldier—Junior Sergeant Ivan Ivanovich Brovdiy.
The Irshava City Council announced the farewell ceremony for the fallen defender.
Four Years on the Front Lines: The Combat Career of a Senior Gunner-Operator
Ivan Brovdiy was born on April 13, 1973. From the very first months of the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, he joined the ranks of the Ukrainian Defense Forces without hesitation:
- Military duty: The junior sergeant served as a senior gunner-operator in the 3rd Territorial Defense Battalion of one of the military units;
- Southern Front: For over four years, the soldier bravely and steadfastly defended Ukrainian soil against the occupiers in the Kherson sector;
- Fatal Battle: On November 3, 2026, while carrying out another combat mission on the front lines, the 53-year-old defender’s life was tragically cut short.
His family wept, and the entire village mourned: burial at the Walk of Fame
The entire village gathered to see the fallen Hero off on his final journey—from fellow villagers and schoolmates to comrades-in-arms who had held their positions side by side with him:
- his fellow villagers greeted the funeral procession on bended knee, forming a living corridor of honor with national flags along the main streets;
- the funeral service was held in the courtyard of the defender’s family home on Poshtova Street, where he lived with his large family;
- His elderly mother wept inconsolably over the coffin, along with his grief-stricken wife and children, who had hoped for a miracle until the very last moment. Years of peaceful life, raising young grandchildren, and family happiness lay ahead, but the war mercilessly cut it all short.
Amid the volleys of a military salute and the strains of the Ukrainian national anthem, the soldier was buried with full military honors in the “Alley of Glory” at the local cemetery in the village of Chornyi Potik.
The editorial staff of “Zakarpats’kyi Visnyk” extends its deepest, most sincere condolences to his mother, wife, children, grandchildren, comrades-in-arms, and the entire Irshava community.
May the memory of this Defender of Ukraine live on, and may he be eternally honored! Heroes never die!
Source: Irshava City Council, Khust District.
