On 26 April 2026, a memorial event for Plast member, Senior Lieutenant, and head of the battalion medical unit of the 44th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Petro Bohdan (1980–2024), was held at the War Museum.
During the event, Ostap Stasiv, a senior Plast member of the “Tselibat Murlyky” kurin, emphasized that during the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war, 88 Plast members have returned on the shield, and around 700 are veterans or active servicemen.
The event moderator, Liubov Krupnyk, presented materials from the War Museum’s collections dedicated to Plast members: Oleksandr Homeniuk, Yevhen Podolianchuk, Dmytro Pashchuk, and Viktor Hurniak.
Petro was the eldest of three children of Zenovii Bohdan and Hanna Mushynska. He lost his father at the age of 8. His parents had connections with the Sixtiers movement, and, as his mother recalled, during a search, samvydav materials were even hidden in baby Petro’s cradle. His father, Zenovii Bohdan, was involved in publishing the first samvydav underground Ukrainian journal, “Ukrainskyi Visnyk”.
Petro Bohdan’s classmate from School-Gymnasium № 117 named after Lesia Ukrainka in Kyiv, Orest Kryvoruk, noted that Petro’s Ukrainian identity and Christian upbringing laid a strong foundation for his character: “Petro, like his name, was like a Carpathian rock – firm, upright, and strong. At the beginning of our acquaintance, we often settled disputes and sometimes fought to the end. However, as it turned out, our strengths were equal. Eventually, the rivalry grew into calm, friendly relations, especially since there were not many truly Ukrainian-speaking children in the class.”
His Plast mentor, Oleh Zapadniuk, noted that Petro was a man “of great honor, dignity, a man of action… It was very difficult in Soviet times to find a Ukrainian environment in Kyiv. His mother used to take him from the left bank to School № 117, where there was a Ukrainian community. Later, during the revival of the Ukrainian Church, Petro could always be seen with his mother, sister, and brother at Askold’s Grave. This shaped him as a person with his own position: the position of a Christian, the position of a Ukrainian.” Petro Bohdan’s younger brother, Stefan, also noted that for Petro it was important not to talk, but to act.
Petro’s mother, Hanna Mushynska, emphasized that he first joined the Ukrainian Volunteer Army and said in March 2022 that the enemy must be dealt with now, as he had a growing son.
Former deputy battalion commander of the 44th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Viacheslav Khmelnytskyi, who served alongside Petro, recalled: “He was modest and responsible; our medical unit functioned in a way that truly deserves his credit.”
There is little information about the modest Petro Bohdan. Guests shared previously unknown details about his life from childhood and Plast upbringing to his military service. The family also donated Petro Bohdan’s personal belongings to the War Museum’s collections.
