{{Short description|Ukrainian politician}} {{family name hatnote|Serhiyovych|Boychenko|lang=Eastern Slavic}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}} {{Use British English|date=May 2022}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Vadym Boychenko | honorific_suffix = | native_name = {{nobold|Вадим Бойченко}} | native_name_lang = uk | image = Vadim Boychenko (cropped).jpg | alt = | caption = Boychenko in August 2016 | status = Incumbent <small>(contested)</small> | order = 3rd | office = Mayor of Mariupol | term_start = 15 December 2015<hr />''disputed with Konstantin Ivashchenko''<br /><small>(6 April 2022 – 23 January 2023)</small><br />''disputed with Oleg Morgun''<br /><small>(since 23 January 2023)</small><hr /> | term_end = | deputy = | predecessor = Yuriy Khotlubei | successor = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1977|06|05}} | birth_place = Zhdanov, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Mariupol, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine) | death_date = | death_place = | spouse = | party = Vadym Boychenko Bloc | other_party = | relatives = | children = | alma_mater = {{plainlist| * Priazov State Technical University * Donetsk National University }} | occupation = | profession = Politician | signature = | website = https://t.me/VadymBoichenko }}
'''Vadym Serhiyovych Boychenko''' ({{Langx|uk|Вадим Сергійович Бойченко}}; born 5 June 1977) is a Ukrainian politician who serves as the de jure mayor of Mariupol in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine since 2015. Boychenko served as mayor during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and Siege of Mariupol though not inside the city,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Мер Маріуполя розповів, коли і чому залишив місто |url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2022/04/10/7338680/ |access-date=2022-05-17 |website=Українська правда |language=uk}}</ref> during which the city has been "completely destroyed", according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
==Early life== Boychenko was born in Mariupol on 5 June 1977. He is a graduate of both the Priazov State Technical University and the Donetsk National University.<ref name="chesnopolitician134704"/> He began employment at the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works as a locomotive engineer in 2005, going on to become Deputy Head of Transportation before leaving the company in 2010.<ref name="chesnopolitician134704"/> He then held management positions at Metinvest and another steelworks company until his election as mayor in 2015.<ref name="chesnopolitician134704"/><ref>{{cite web |title=City Government |url=https://mariupolrada.gov.ua/en/person/bojchenko-vadim-sergijovich |website=mariupolrada.gov.ua |access-date=3 March 2022}}</ref>
==Mayor of Mariupol== In 2013–2015, Boychenko was a member of the executive committee of the Mariupol City Council.<ref name="chesnopolitician134704"/>
Boychenko was elected mayor of Mariupol on 15 December 2015.<ref name="vtoroy-1604330855">{{cite news |last1=Tverdenko |first1=Roman |title=The mayor of Mariupol Boychenko was elected for a second term |url=https://vybory.rbc.ua/ukr/2020/mera-mariupolya-boychenko-izbrali-vtoroy-1604330855.html |access-date=3 March 2022 |agency=rbc.ua |date=2 November 2020}}</ref> He was elected as a non-partisan self-nominated candidate with 69% of the vote.<ref name="chesnopolitician134704"/>
Boychenko unsuccessfully took part in the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election for the Opposition Bloc party, No. 5 on the list as a non-partisan.<ref name="chesnopolitician134704">{{in lang|uk}} [https://www.chesno.org/politician/134704/ Electoral history of Vadym Boychenko], Civil movement "Chesno"</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2019/07/22/7221609/|title = Новинський і ще 5 "опоблоківців" проходять у Раду, а Колесніков – ні}}</ref>
Boychenko was re-elected for a second term in October 2020.<ref name="vtoroy-1604330855"/> He was a candidate for the Vadym Boychenko Bloc.<ref name="chesnopolitician134704"/>
==Siege of Mariupol== When Russian forces launched their full-scale invasion 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.<ref>{{Cite news| date=2022-03-02 |title=Mariupol mayor reports mass casualties from nonstop Russian attack |language=en | publisher=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/mariupol-mayor-reports-mass-casualties-nonstop-russian-attack-2022-03-02/ |access-date=2022-03-03}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Kovalenko |first1=Oksana |last2=Spirin |first2=Yevhen |title=”I was wrong.” Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko tells why he thought there would be no war, about the situation in the city, occupiersʼ actions, filtration camps and mass burials — a long interview |date=24 May 2022 |publisher=Babel |url=https://babel.ua/en/texts/78985-i-was-wrong-mariupol-mayor-vadym-boychenko-tells-why-he-thought-there-would-be-no-war-about-the-situation-in-the-city-occupiers-actions-filtration-camps-and-mass-burials-a-long-interview |archive-date=1 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601085345/https://babel.ua/en/texts/78985-i-was-wrong-mariupol-mayor-vadym-boychenko-tells-why-he-thought-there-would-be-no-war-about-the-situation-in-the-city-occupiers-actions-filtration-camps-and-mass-burials-a-long-interview }}</ref>
==See also== * List of mayors of Mariupol
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Mariupol in the Russo-Ukrainian War}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boychenko, Vadym}} Category:1977 births Category:Living people Category:Politicians from Mariupol Category:Mayors of places in Ukraine Category:Pryazovskyi State Technical University alumni Category:Donetsk National University alumni Category:21st-century Ukrainian politicians Category:Independent politicians in Ukraine Category:Siege of Mariupol