Oleksandr Boiko was born on January 15, 1977 in the village of Klevan, Rivne Region in the family of workers. He graduated from Klevan secondary school No. 2. He was interested in technology and photography since childhood.
He worked at the following enterprises: Klevan Woodworking Factory, Zorya Greenhouses, State Forestry and Limited Liability Company KOLOR S.I.M. He worked as a specialist in measuring instruments and automation.
He was mobilized to the Armed Forces of Ukraine in August 2014. He served in the 93rd Brigade. He was a sergeant and the senior gunner of the 4th mortar crew of mortar batteries.
On February 12, 2015, during a mortar shelling by illegal armed forces near the village of Vodyane, Yasinuvatskyi District in Donetsk Region, he received a fragmented wound and died.
The hero’s wife, son and daughter now have to live without him.
On February 18, he was buried in the local cemetery of his native village.
By Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 282/2015 of May 23, 2015, “For personal courage and high professionalism, demonstrated in the defense of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, loyalty to military oath,” Oleksandr Boiko was awarded the Order “For Courage” of the III class (posthumously).
Publications about Oleksandr Boiko
Deceased Oleksandr Boiko was put to rest.
A farewell ceremony took place in Klevan to honor Oleksandr Boiko who covered the “cyborgs” at the Donetsk airport. Hundreds of citizens came out into the streets to say goodbye to the hero for the last time. Hero of Ukraine Oleksandr Boiko died in a battle with the Russian occupiers near the village of Pisky in the Donetsk District. At the funeral, there were a lot of militaries with whom Oleksandr had served in the army.
Oleksandr was buried at the local cemetery in the village of Klevan.
Oleksandr Boiko was born on January 15, 1977. He was mobilized to the Armed Forces of Ukraine in August 2014 as a sergeant and the senior gunner of the 4th mortar crew of mortar batteries. He served in the 93rd Brigade.
During the last months of his life, he was in the village of Pisky near Donetsk airport. On February 12, 2015 during a mortar shelling by illegal armed forces near the village of Vodyane, he received a fragmented wound and died. He had a wife who is a teacher at Klevan secondary school No. 1, a son who is a student and a daughter who studies at an elementary school. Rivne District Council and administrations expressed condolences to the family of the deceased.
Yuliia Holyk
The residents of Klevan says goodbye for the last time to their hero
Oleksandr Boiko was a true man and died like a real warrior.
Six years ago together with the manager of the Sukhivetskyi department Volodymyr Revko, who is a former part of the agricultural firm “Zorya”, we arrived at a field near Sukhivtsi to make a report about the harvest to the newspaper. I remembered that day well. It was calm and windless weather. Somewhere in the high cloudless blue sky, a lark could be heard. A wavy field on the hills resembled huge deposits of solid gold nuggets. The field was surrounded by the arc of a dark green forest wall. Old Niva combines harvester absorbed overripe stems into their steel bodies. Prickly plow from the dust and chaff followed the combine harvesters and the ubiquitous stork proudly diverged on the field, reminding esteemed collective farm checkers but only without glasses on their long beaks.
During the break, the combine operators left their not-perfect “ships”, collapse together being tired smutty with their cheeky eyes but happy to do the right honorable thing, often ungrateful and most peaceful on earth – farming. In this solemn moment of the triumph of peace and work our photographer took the right photo. Next to him, the unique moments of the process of life were captured by a cowling boy, as it turned out to be a grandson of Volodymyr Revko –Oleksandr Boiko. It was found out that Oleksandr is a participant in a class of photographing at a City House of Children and Youth Creativity, whose father also named Oleksandr, works at Zorya Greenhouses and his mother teaches at Klevan secondary school No. 1. According to Boiko Jr., when his father was a student he was also fond of photography but at that time it was mostly black and white. “So it is in our family,” Oleksandr said a little ironically.
Could he contemplate that day that in a few years’ time he would take other kinds of photos like his father near the conscription office before going to the East of Ukraine with his young sister Bohdana and a call-up paper which became his sinister pass to nothing? It was not taken in mind at that time. Probably on the same day in August, Russian humanitarian convoy wagons were already loaded with artillery mines boxes, one of which was destined for Oleksandr Boiko and made his wife Svitlana a widow, his children orphans. It brought so much unspeakable grief and sadness to his relatives and to everyone who knew this wonderful person – Ukrainian warrior Oleksandr Boiko.
Everything was twisted: a lark, the sky, gold of bread and peaceful idyll. And a piece of Russian metal that turned the world from head to toe … Too early we got used to our peaceful life. Gold of Ukrainian bread darkens someone’s eyes, as the prairie gold of apaches to gangsters of earlier times.
The loss of the son-in-law deeply touched the heart of always objective Volodymyr Revko. Always terse but accurate in his assessments Volodymyr told us “What was Alexander like? Hm… he was a decent, conscientious, honest, reliable and man. He had no bad habits. But above all, he was a patriot of his country. You know, he had the right to a postponement because his father was a disabled person and he had underage children. He was even openly told about this in the military commissariat. But Oleksandr said “No, I have to go to the war because I will be ashamed to face other people. Who will protect my children?””
The labor work of Oleksandr Boiko has taken place at such enterprises as the Klevan Woodworking factory, Zorya Greenhouses, State Forestry, Limited Liability Company KOLOR S.I.M. He understood engineering and electrical equipment well. According to his mother Svitlana, who worked for many years as a laboratory assistant in the Klevan Woodworking factory, Oleksandr was fascinated by technology from childhood. He always had some spare parts, necessary tools. This enthusiasm was facilitated by the example of his father Viacheslav, who worked at the same factory for many years as an engineer. When parents realized that Oleksandr’s decision to take part in the ATO zone was irreversible, they bought him body armor at their own expense immediately but searched for a helmet for a long time. Finally, they found it in Lviv. They wanted so hard that their only son returns home alive. They hope that the protective metal and God will save their son. It wasn’t meant to be.
The chief engineer of Zorya greenhouses Pavlo Butov about Oleksandr Boiko:
“At our greenhouse he worked for 11 years as an electrician, then as a boiler house operator. Oleksandr was a specialist, energetic respectable sociable and reliable person. A high-tech technician obtained a degree in Automation and Control Measuring Devices. He was loved and respected by all our guys from the mechanical service. And here’s what characterizes him. When leaving our team, Oleksandr said to them “I’m sorry if there was something wrong, if, perhaps, someone was offended by me …” He could offend no one! When he already served as the gunner of the fourth mortar crew of a mortar battery in the 93rd Brigade under the well-known Pisky Village, where he received a deadly wound on February 12, he contacted the boys on the phone. He was joking and telling me he was doing fine. Once we packed the parcel for him with salo, cigarettes and sent these goods to his unit. Oleksandr phoned and thanked us. “You have no idea with what pleasure we are now eating salo!”, he said.
I just can’t wrap my head around the idea that he is… gone”, says Pavlo.
A small town Klevan, perhaps, hadn’t seen in all its history such a crowded funeral. Oleksandr was brought to the town on the night of February 17. Authorities, local entrepreneurs, deputies helped with transport and fuel. It could not be otherwise. From three o’clock on the night of February 17, hundreds of people with candles and lamps in their hands were waiting for the appearance of a sorrowful voyage. Until the morning, dozens of flashing lights in memory of the hero cut through the night`s darkness near the house on 13 Volodymyrska Street where Oleksandr Boiko lived. Throughout the day, people went to this address to give their last respect to their fellow villager and coworker. At noon on February 18, a huge procession attended by the residents of Klevan and the surrounding villages, representatives of local and district authorities, soldiers, clerics, escorted the hero to his final resting place. The Dean of the city of Rivne and Rivne Region of the UOC Archpriest Valerii Kapitaniuk in his speech said that this sorrowful day coincided with the anniversary of the beginning of the murder of people on the Maidan. Mostly, young people who fought for freedom and justice were killed. The death of Olexandr in the ATO zone is the first tragedy of this kind in Klevan and we have to pray for his soul, for all those people who died for Ukraine, and for the whole army to return home alive and healthy.
The memorial service for Oleksandr Boiko was served in Klevan St. Nicholas Church with the participation of ten clerics. Under the military salute, the coffin was put to a grave in the local cemetery, where he had found his eternal rest in his native land.
Glory to Ukraine! Glory to heroes!
Today in Klevan deceased Oleksandr Boiko was put to rest.
He was a mortarman and covered the “cyborgs” at the Donetsk airport. During a mortar shelling near the village of Vodyane Yasinuvatskyi Region, near Donetsk, he received a fragmented wound and died.
Hundreds of citizens came out into the streets to say goodbye to the hero for the last time. At the funeral, there were a lot of militaries with whom Oleksandr had served in the army. He had a wife, two children and parents who retired.
Oleksandr Tuz
The mortarman was buried in Rivne Region, who covered “cyborgs” at Donetsk airport
He was kind and faultless.Together with his wife, he raised a son and a daughter.Oleksandr liked ph
otography. He took photos almost everywhere, where he was.Even in the ATO zone. Oleksandr Boiko could not go to the East, because he was the only son of retired parents. However, this option was not even considered because it is necessary to protect the Motherland. He will be buried on February 18 in Klevan, where he lived and where his family remained to live.
Oleksandr Boiko turned 38 years old in January. He lived in the village of Klevan, Rivne Region, working in the village of Zorya in the Greenhouse complex. He was an electrician and specialist in control measurement devices. He was mobilized in August last year. Oleksandr Boiko was a sergeant, senior gunner of the mortar crew of the mortar battery of the 93rd Brigade. Since October, he fought near the village of Pisky, which was near the Donetsk airport covering “cyborgs” with a fire.
Rivne volunteers mention Oleksandr Boiko with pain and sorrow. They say that a soldier did not ask for anything for himself. He just said “I have everything.” Maybe that’s why he could have got less attention, in comparison with others. When Olexandr went on holiday, he always came to charity events, thanked volunteers and everybody who was helping. He also handed fragments of mines for an exposition to the museum. He died from similar fragments on February 12 near the village of Vodyane. It happened during shelling the positions of Ukrainian mortar guards with militia artillery.
Oleksandr will forever remain in the memory of his relatives, friends and volunteers who met him only a few months ago.
“He lived without pathos and loud words. The time has come and he has gone to defend his Motherland, his family and all of us. He went to come back. It was not meant to be. I want to get drunk and fall into depression but I will not. I will fight further because he fought for us too”, wrote on Facebook volunteer of “DAR” and a journalist Yurii Diuh.
Journalist and volunteer Inna Biletska remembers a song that Oleksandr loved.
In memory of Olexandr Boyko!
The Son is taken home
To lead the last path
The earth is sobbing and groaning
Your mother is already saddened.
For whom you left the elderly parents?
For whom you left you your children?
Klevan Town says goodbye to you.
Your family is mourning for you.
Has no master more in the house
There will be no one to meet kids
And mummy won`t hug her son.
Not one time a little daughter will cry.
We did not think at this difficult time
Do the heroes live among us?
We bow to the heroes
Let them be in our memory.
You gave your life, son
For your native Ukraine
For your singing land, you are my hero
You did not give up on the enemy and defended the honor.
Glory to the heroes!
There is a memorial plaque in honor of the deceased soldier Oleksandr Boiko
A
t the building of the Klevan school-lyceum in the Rivne Region, a memorial plaque was opened for the deceased soldier Oleksandr Boiko, who graduated from this institution.
To honor the memory of the deceased fellow countrymen, relatives, representatives of local authorities, students, and the public came to the requiem. The attendees recalled the feat of the fallen Hero and gave him honor by a minute of silence.
The consecration of the memorial plaque took place yesterday.