Ukraine frees Mariupol defender who evacuated ship from Crimea in 2014

“Oleksandr Boychuk, the legendary commander of Ukraine’s only minehunter — now destroyed — who sailed the ship out of Crimea in 2014, is coming home! This is incredible news!” Kutiepov shared.

Boychuk went missing in the early months of Russia’s full-scale invasion. For the first year, he was not listed among the living, the journalist said, adding that the commander’s wife and sons are also in the military.

On Feb. 24, 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion, Boychuk was aboard the command ship Donbas in Mariupol. He and his comrades from three ships defended the vessels, the port, and later Mariupol itself. He was eventually captured, Hromadske reported.

As part of a prisoner exchange with Russia on Aug. 14, 84 people returned to Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. He added that both military personnel and civilians were among those freed, with nearly all needing medical care and rehabilitation.

The coordination headquarters for prisoner affairs said 33 military personnel and 51 civilians were among those returned. Some civilians had been held by Russia since 2014, 2016, or 2017. The freed military personnel included defenders of Mariupol.

The Story of the Minehunter Henichesk: Mutiny, Escape, Capture, and Return

Henichesk (U360) was a Ukrainian Navy Project 1258 coastal mine defense ship, launched July 10, 1985.

At the start of Russia’s occupation of Crimea, Henichesk was stationed on Lake Donuzlav, Hromadske reported. Boychuk, then senior midshipman, put the ship on combat alert. Henichesk refused boarding by Russian forces and made two attempts to break out from Donuzlav.

The second attempt nearly succeeded — Russian forces missed the ship’s departure. However, they eventually caught up, and Russian special forces boarded and captured the ship, beating Boychuk.

In May 2014, the occupiers returned Henichesk to Ukraine. From then until its destruction in 2022, Henichesk remained Ukraine’s only minehunter; Russia did not return other ships of the same type seized in Crimea. Boychuk fled Crimea in March 2014 to Ukrainian-controlled territory with his family.

The destruction of Henichesk by Russian forces was confirmed by the Ukrainian presidential office in August 2022; the exact date was not released.

Taras Chmut, director of the charity Return Alive, said Russian forces struck Henichesk and the Slovyansk patrol boat — also destroyed — using cruise missiles during a combat mission. According to Chmut, the strikes were carried out by aircraft based in Russian-occupied Novofedorivka near Crimea. Some of the crew were rescued.