Ukrainian minesweeper commander, defender of Mariupol, returns from captivity

Journalist Bohdan Kutyepov reported this information.

Oleksandr Boychuk, a senior warrant officer and chief petty officer of the 9th division of surface ships of the Ukrainian Navy, was captured in the first month of the full-scale invasion. Kutyepov noted that for the first year, Boychuk was not listed among the living.

In addition to fighting Russia, he served in Ukraine’s peacekeeping mission in Iraq for eight months. Currently, his wife and sons defend Ukraine from Russian aggression.

Resistance to annexation and loyalty to the oath

In March 2014, during the seizure of Crimea by Russian “little green men,” senior warrant officer Boychuk put the Henichesk on combat alert. On March 18, all Ukrainian naval ships lifted anchor and attempted to leave Donuzlav to reach Ukrainian waters, but were blocked before they could escape.

Two days later, on March 20, the commander of the 5th Brigade of Surface Ships, Vitaliy Zvyahintsev, who betrayed Ukraine, ordered all ships to dock. Boychuk refused and denied the Russians access to his ship. At that time, three machine-gun positions and automatic grenade launchers were aimed at the ships, while the Henichesk’s crew faced dwindling supplies of food and fuel.

When the Russians attempted to seize the vessel, Ukrainian sailors loyal to their oath had to fend off Russian special forces. Of Boychuk’s crew of 11, eight refused to side with Russian forces, and Boychuk himself lost consciousness after a head injury. The ship was eventually docked, and the Ukrainian sailors were sent home.

On May 20, Russian tugs removed the Henichesk from Donuzlav and returned it to the Ukrainian side, with Boychuk resuming command. Under his leadership, the ship participated in the international Sea Breeze exercises for four consecutive years, until 2018.

• Ukraine and Russia carried out another prisoner swap, as a result of which 84 people—both military personnel and civilians—returned home on August 13.