Vadym Boychenko | |
|---|---|
Вадим Бойченко | |
.jpg) Boychenko in August 2016 | |
| 3rd Mayor of Mariupol | |
Incumbent(contested) | |
| Assumed office 15 December 2015 disputed withKonstantin Ivashchenko (6 April 2022 – 23 January 2023) disputed withOleg Morgun (since 23 January 2023) | |
| Preceded by | Yuriy Khotlubei |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1977-06-05)5 June 1977 (age 48) |
| Party | Vadym Boychenko Bloc |
| Alma mater | |
| Profession | Politician |
| Website | https://t.me/VadymBoichenko |
Vadym Serhiyovych Boychenko (Ukrainian:Вадим Сергійович Бойченко; born 5 June 1977) is aUkrainianpolitician who serves as the de juremayor of Mariupol inDonetsk Oblast, Ukraine since 2015. Boychenko served as mayor during the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine andSiege of Mariupol though not inside the city,[1] during which the city has been "completely destroyed", according toPresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy.
Boychenko was born inMariupol on 5 June 1977. He is a graduate of both thePriazov State Technical University and theDonetsk National University.[2] He began employment at theAzovstal Iron and Steel Works as a locomotive engineer in 2005, going on to become Deputy Head of Transportation before leaving the company in 2010.[2] He then held management positions atMetinvest and another steelworks company until his election as mayor in 2015.[2][3]
In 2013–2015, Boychenko was a member of the executive committee of theMariupol City Council.[2]
Boychenko was elected mayor of Mariupolon 15 December 2015.[4] He was elected as a non-partisan self-nominated candidate with 69% of the vote.[2]
Boychenko unsuccessfully took part in the2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election for theOpposition Bloc party, No. 5 on the list as a non-partisan.[2] The party won six single-seat constituencies, but its nationwide list only won 3.23% of the votes, failing to overcome the 5% election barrier.[5]
Boychenko wasre-elected for a second term in October 2020.[4] He was a candidate for the Vadym Boychenko Bloc.[2]
WhenRussian forces launched their full-scaleinvasion of Ukraine in 2022, Mariupol quickly became one of the most devastated cities in the conflict. As the siege intensified, Boychenko was forced to leave the city for his safety. From outside the encircled city, working from places like Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia, he became one of the key voices sharing what was happening inside Mariupol. Boychenko gave regular updates to journalists and international organizations, describing the worsening humanitarian crisis—people trapped without food, water, or electricity, and neighborhoods reduced to rubble. His reports helped bring global attention to the suffering of Mariupol's residents and the scale of the destruction caused by the siege.[6]
In an interview in May 2022, Boychenko looked back at the early days of the invasion and the city's response. He mentioned how even one day prior to the invasion, he did not have other information available and believed that an invasion would not occur. He then discussed various topics relating to the war, including the coordination efforts following the beginning of invasion, the shortage of bomb shelters, his own family's war story, and how he is continuing to support the people of Mariupol in exile.[7]
Mariupol in theRusso-Ukrainian war | |
|---|---|
| War in Donbas(2014–2022) | |
| Siege of Mariupol(2022) | |
| Russian people | |
| Ukrainian people | |
| Pro-Ukrainian volunteers | |
