Andrii Subotin - Know Your Own

“I’m a general’s son, not a general’s pampered boy.” Lawyer Andrii Subotin made his own way into the Border Guard. In 2022 he defended Mariupol, saved civilians and carried the wounded, and married in a bunker at Azovstal. Hero of Ukraine (posthumously).

Key accomplishments

Lawyer and captain of justice in the Donetsk Border Guard Detachment (Mariupol), call sign “Boroda” (“Beard”)

Fought in the defence of Mariupol in 2022; went back on duty after being wounded on 26 March

With his comrades, carried wounded people to the field hospital at Azovstal and helped save civilians

Order for Courage, 3rd class (posthumously)

Hero of Ukraine with the Gold Star order (posthumously, decree No. 562/2024 of 23 August 2024)

A general’s son, not a general’s boy

Andrii Subotin was born in 1987 in the village of Tolbuzino on the Amur River, into a family of border guards. His father became a border guard general. Andrii wanted to follow the same path and was preparing to enter the National Academy of the Border Guard Service, but he failed the medical exam.

So he studied law instead, went through military training at university and became a junior lieutenant. He worked as a lawyer for several years. Then, in May 2019, he arrived in Mariupol with one backpack and a small travel bag to serve in the Donetsk Border Guard Detachment. Getting there on his own, without his father’s help, was a matter of principle for him.

“Boroda” in a city under siege

That was his call sign: “Beard”. After 24 February 2022, Captain of Justice Subotin stayed to defend Mariupol. On 26 March mortar shrapnel wounded him in the leg and shoulder, but he went back on duty.

When the wounded were ferried across under fire by boat, Andrii and his comrades took them in and brought them to the field hospital at Azovstal. On 16 April he helped find a shelter where civilians were hiding and shared food and water with them. Thanks to the soldiers’ humanity and self-sacrifice, more than 80 civilians were kept alive.

A wedding at Azovstal

For the engagement Andrii made two rings out of foil and packed them in a small metal box. On 5 May 2022, the anniversary of Azov’s founding, he married the regiment’s press officer Valeriia “Nava” Karpylenko in a bunker at the plant. Azov’s commander, Denys “Redis” Prokopenko, witnessed the marriage.

Andrii Subotin was killed on 7 May 2022 at Azovstal in Mariupol. He was 34.

Why it matters today

Andrii Subotin made his own way: when the door to the border guard academy closed, he found another road and became a border guard all the same. In besieged Mariupol he thought of more than himself: he helped save the wounded and shared food and water with civilians, and more than 80 of them were kept alive. Even under siege he made rings out of foil and married Valeriia Karpylenko. He showed that you can choose your own path and look after others along it.