In Tskhinval on Thursday, Andrei Bakaev, a native of South Ossetia, perished heroically during a special operation in Ukraine to protect the inhabitants of Donbass, was carried off with military honors.
Sergeant Andrei Bakaev served in one of the units of the 58th Army of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Andrei was 35 years old, he had two children. Awarded the Order of Courage of Russia (posthumously).
Hundreds of people came to pay tribute to the hero, including the leadership of South Ossetia, headed by President of the Republic Anatoly Bibilov, Russian Ambassador to South Ossetia Marat Kulakhmetov, representatives of the Defense Ministry of the Republic and the 4th military base, residents of the city.
During the funeral meeting, the head of state Anatoly Bibilov has noted that Andrey Bakaev had heroism in his blood, like a real Ossetian.
“Andrey belongs to the generation of those guys who did not see a quiet life. He, without hesitation, decided to help the fraternal people, who found themselves in a difficult situation, like our other defenders who are now on the front lines. Our youth fights courageously for freedom. Today is a very difficult time, we have not yet got rid of the coronavirus, the war has begun. Each of us has a broken heart. If there were no people like Andrei, we would not have defended ourselves,” Bibilov said.
By the decree of the head of state, Andrey Bakaev was awarded the medal "Defender of the Fatherland" posthumously.
The President has stressed that Andrey Bakaev is "Ossetian and Russian, a real defender."
“He understood where he was going, but military duty was above all. May God grant that those young people who are fighting for freedom return alive, healthy and with victory,” he said.
Russian Ambassador to South Ossetia Marat Kulakhmetov expressed his condolences to the family and friends of Andrey Bakaev.
“Today we are seeing off the last journey of the faithful son of Ossetia, the son of Russia. Loving father, husband, beloved son. He devoted his whole life to the cause of serving the Motherland, and when the right hour came, he looked death in the face with an open visor. And today and in the future, we must always remember people like him. Only people like Andrey keep the world. Forgive us for not saving him,” the Ambassador said.
People who did not know Andrei Bakaev also came to say goodbye to the hero of Ossetia and Russia. The pain overwhelmed each of those gathered, people were crying without restraining their emotions.
