In occupied Berdyansk, two Ukrainian teens who were murdered in a confrontation with Russian soldiers have been praised as heroes.
Tihran Ohannisian, 16, is shown holding a Kalashnikov gun in his lap and is shown in a video clip that surfaced over the weekend covered in blood.
The boy performs patriotic songs for his country with fervour despite his health and claims to have killed two Russian soldiers in the conflict.
‘Two for sure, that’s death, guys. Farewell! Glory to Ukraine!’ Tihran declares proudly as he raises his fist in solidarity before later succumbing to his injuries.
Russian authorities in Berdyansk confirmed the deaths of Ohannisian and his 16-year-old classmate, Mykyta Khanhanov, on Saturday.
They claimed the boys had killed a civilian and labelled them ‘pro-Ukrainian terrorists’.
Human rights activists are now trying to understand the exact circumstances of the boys’ deaths after they became the subject of a European parliament resolution.
In September last year, Tihran was arrested at his home in Berdyansk by Russian forces who tried to accuse him of sabotaging a railway to disrupt military logistics. Mykyta was also blamed but he was able to escape the arrest.
It is said Tihran was beaten and tortured as the Russian forces tried to elicit a confession from him.
Media and human rights campaigners – largely headed up by the Ukrainian body Media Initiative for Human Rights – eventually helped secure his release. Tihran and Mykyta were placed under house arrest and ordered to check in at a local police station daily.
‘My son was tortured with electric shocks,’ Tihran’s mother, Oksana Starovierova, told journalists, The Times reported.
‘They took him to a field and carried out a mock execution,’ she said. ‘Russians asked him, “Are you going to become a guerilla?” They ordered him to prepare to die.’
Ms Starovierova, her husband, and Tihran’s younger sister had left for Germany following the invasion, but Tihran had chosen to stay and look after his grandmother.
The family returned in January to try and get Tihran out of the country but were prevented from doing so by Russian forces.
The boys were formally charged by Russia’s Investigative Committee in May 2023, and if convicted would have faced 20 years in prison.
Their arrests were condemned by the European parliament and a range of human rights organisations, who introduced a resolution on the case calling on Russia to ‘end grave violations against children affected by armed conflict’ and to transfer the boys to Ukrainian territory.
It also called on Russian authorities to allow the boys access to lawyers and international organisation representatives, although it was later revealed they were denied access to legal representation.
The exact circumstances of the boys’ death are shrouded in mystery.
The pair are believed to have fled their homes last week, fearing another interview by Russian officials.
Ohannissian is known to have contacted his mother in Germany, saying that they were alone and needed help.
It is not known exactly what triggered the violence of the boys’ last moments, although Ohannissian’s defiant video suggests he had, indeed, killed two Russians and knew he was about to die himself.
The Russian authorities say the boys killed a civilian: Ukrainian sources say they shot two collaborationist policemen.
Whatever the truth, by 7pm on Saturday the boys were both dead.