On December 6, 2024, a Russian missile strike on Zaporizhzhia claimed the life of 27-year-old hockey player Bohdan Titov — an athlete, a leader, and the captain of the amateur team Aurora.
From early childhood, Bohdan devoted himself to hockey. He took his first steps in his native Zaporizhzhia, later continued training in Kharkiv, and eventually returned home, where he became one of the team’s key players and its captain.
To his teammates on the ice, he was more than a companion — he was a true leader. His longtime teammate Vitalii Zubchenko recalls:
“He always led us forward; he was our leader. The pain is beyond words… Young men are leaving us just like that.”
That same day, the enemy attack also took the life of another Aurora player, Maksym Brahyn. The head of the regional hockey federation, Oleh Yudin, said that both athletes had begun playing as children and had grown into strong, devoted hockey players:
“What happened is a tragedy. They were true leaders of our team. This loss is deeply felt throughout the entire hockey community, for Zaporizhzhia, for our team.”
Following the tragedy, a commemorative practice was held at the city’s ice arena — teammates, coaches, and friends gathered to honor the fallen athletes and pay their final respects.
Eternal memory to the athletes whose lives were taken by war.