President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree posthumously awarding the Order of Freedom to Tihran Ohannisian and Mykyta Khanhanov, who were killed by Russian occupiers on June 24, 2023, in temporarily occupied Berdiansk.
After Russia’s full-scale invasion and the occupation of Berdiansk, the boys remained at home. Tihran Ohannisian actively expressed his pro-Ukrainian position, which led to repeated pressure from the occupying forces: he was abducted from the home where he lived with his grandmother, subjected to torture and abuse, including electric shocks and simulated execution, and was arrested by representatives of the occupation authorities.
Mykyta Khanhanov also openly expressed his pro-Ukrainian stance. In October 2022, the occupiers attempted to arrest the boy, interrogated him together with his father, and later began fabricating a case accusing him of alleged sabotage on the railway and conducted searches at his home. The case against him was prepared for trial, with plans to sentence him to 20 years in prison.
Tihran Ohannisian and Mykyta Khanhanov were friends. The occupiers killed them on June 23, 2023. Following their deaths, a video appeared online with their final words: “That’s it, this is death, guys. Farewell. Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!”
Two years after their killing, the occupiers have still not returned the bodies of Tihran Ohannisian and Mykyta Khanhanov to their families.