c. 2006–2023
Tihran Ohannisian
Schoolboy from occupied Berdiansk
425 votes in favour: that is how the European Parliament told russia in 2023 to let two Berdiansk schoolboys go. Tihran Ohannisian stayed in his occupied city and openly backed Ukraine. The occupiers tortured him and charged him with “sabotage”. In June 2023, aged 16, he was killed.
Key accomplishments
- A pupil of School No. 7 in Berdiansk who openly backed Ukraine under occupation
- On 15 June 2023 the European Parliament passed a resolution demanding an end to the persecution of him and Mykyta Khanhanov
- Order of Freedom (posthumously, decree No. 500/2025 of 19 July 2025)
- A street in Zaporizhzhia bears his name (2024)
He stayed
Tihran Ohannisian was born in 2006 in Berdiansk, on the Sea of Azov, and went to the town’s School No. 7. In 2022 russia occupied the city. Tihran stayed, and he made no secret of being on Ukraine’s side.
A case against a schoolboy
The occupiers abducted Tihran, held him at a police station and tortured him. They built a case against him and his friend Mykyta Khanhanov, accusing the boys of plotting “sabotage” on the railway. In May 2023 both were formally charged and faced up to 20 years in prison. For almost six months they lived through pressure, searches and interrogations.
The European Parliament speaks up
Europe heard about the two teenagers from Berdiansk. On 15 June 2023 the European Parliament passed a resolution by 425 votes: it condemned the torture and the case against Tihran and Mykyta, and demanded that the case be dropped and the boys be allowed to leave the occupied territory.
His death
In June 2023, days after the resolution, 16-year-old Tihran Ohannisian and Mykyta were killed in occupied Berdiansk. The occupation authorities called them “pro-Ukrainian terrorists”; human rights defenders say the boys were shot by snipers. As of July 2025, their bodies had not been returned to their families.
Why it matters today
Tihran Ohannisian showed that you can remain a citizen of Ukraine even under occupation, and that courage has nothing to do with age. He made no secret of being on Ukraine’s side, even though the occupiers abducted and tortured him and built a case against him. Europe heard the story of Tihran and his friend Mykyta Khanhanov, and the world learned what the occupiers do even to schoolboys. His choice is a reminder of how precious it is to be able to say out loud that you stand with Ukraine.
