A presentation was held in Kyiv for a booklet dedicated to Hero of Ukraine, Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) intelligence officer Nazar Borovitsky. The publication, rendered in a black-and-white palette with a signature yellow emblematic insignia, tells the story of an officer who twice broke through by helicopter to the encircled Azovstal plant in Mariupol and died during a third mission. The book is part of the GUR's information and educational project “Outstanding Intelligence Officers,” aimed at preserving the stories of fallen Ukrainian military intelligence warriors for future generations.
From a Poltava Lyceum Student to GUR Intelligence Officer
Nazar Borovitsky was born on September 24, 1993, in Poltava. After school, he studied at the Poltava Regional Lyceum-Boarding School for Gifted Children, and in 2011 he enrolled at the SBU National Academy, where he served as the course senior. In 2015, he began his service in the Security Service of Ukraine, underwent training in the United States, and thereafter carried out combat missions in the east of the country. Throughout his career, Borovitsky continually honed his military skills: he mastered the specialties of diver, sapper, and special operations instructor, and made around a hundred parachute jumps. In the spring of 2021, he signed a contract with the GUR and that same year took part in an evacuation mission of the Ukrainian military intelligence in Afghanistan, for which he was awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Third Class.
Three Runs to Azovstal: A Feat for Which No Awards Are Sought
From the first days of the full-scale invasion, Nazar Borovitsky took part in the battles for Borodyanka and Bucha, and then moved to the Mariupol direction. It was there that he became a participant in some of the most risky operations of the entire war — the air breakthroughs into the blockaded Azovstal. Twice he managed to reach the encircled plant, delivering ammunition, medicine, and reinforcements, as well as evacuating wounded defenders. On April 5, 2022, during the third air raid, when his group was flying to aid the crew of a downed helicopter carrying wounded fighters, Russian forces shot the aircraft down. The helicopter crashed several kilometers from the front line on the temporarily occupied territory of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The 28-year-old intelligence officer was killed.
“I Have Not Reconciled Myself and Live in Hope”
Nazar's fate remained unknown for a long time. His family hoped for more than a year that he was alive and could be in captivity. Only after a 99.9% DNA match was he able to be identified. The funeral took place at Baikove Cemetery in Kyiv. The hero's mother, Lesya Borovitska, recalls that in early childhood Nazar dreamed of becoming a firefighter or a farmer, but already by the fifth or sixth grade he began deliberately preparing for military service. “Nazar was a child with a big heart; other children in the yard rallied around him. We never had any trouble with him. My son always worked on himself. Wherever he saw injustice, he came to the aid of the wronged,” she said. At the same time, according to her, her son deliberately told his parents little about his service to shield them from worry. His father, Bohdan Borovitsky, recalls that he last saw his son on March 27, 2022, after the liberation of Kyiv Oblast. “I understood that he was heading to the encircled Mariupol: Nazar said there was a way in. He hugged me very tightly, and only then did I realize that my son was saying goodbye to me then,” the father recounted.
Testimonies of Comrades-in-Arms: A Life Saved Amid the Chaos of Battle
One of the hero's comrades-in-arms recounted how Borovitsky saved his life during the battles in Maryinka in 2016 during the ATO period. “It was my first firefight. We suddenly came under fire, and there was chaos. Instead of running to cover himself, Nazar started urging me on, because I had panicked. A week after the assault we came to that place — there was not a single unscorched spot. If I had hesitated even one more minute then and Nazar had not pushed me on, I would not have survived,” the soldier recalls. Another comrade-in-arms spoke about a joint evacuation mission in Afghanistan in 2021: “There were a lot of people then; some were sneaking into the buses that were being used to transport them to the plane. We brought a family, but it turned out that not all the members were on the list. Not everyone could fit on board. Nazar was deeply moved by this then — he could not stand injustice. We nearly cried because we could not save everyone.” In July 2023, Nazar Borovitsky was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine with the conferral of the “Golden Star” order. “I want people to remember Nazar. There should be regular events in his honor, because it is precisely repetition that creates memory,” noted one of his comrades-in-arms.
The “Outstanding Intelligence Officers” Project: Memory as Systematic Work
The booklet about Nazar Borovitsky became a new release of the GUR's information and educational project “Outstanding Intelligence Officers,” dedicated to the fallen warriors of Ukrainian military intelligence. The project's goal is to preserve the stories of intelligence officers for future generations so that the feat of Ukrainian heroes is not forgotten. “New generations of military and civilians must know these stories, learn from them, and understand the true price of freedom. So that the phrase ‘Heroes don’t die’ is not empty words, but carries real meaning,” the GUR emphasizes. The presentation of the publication in Kyiv became not only a tribute to a specific person, but also part of a broader effort to shape the historical consciousness of society amid an ongoing war.
