Mikhail Boychenko, one of the founders of FC “Phoenix” Bucha, died while serving in the Territorial Defense Forces during the battles in the Kyiv region.
For a long time, he was listed as missing, but the miracle never came. Contact with Boychenko was lost at the beginning of March, and later, his shot-up vehicle was found, where Mikhail, together with several comrades-in-arms, met his final battle. This occurred on the Zhytomyr highway, between the villages of Myla and Dmytrivka. Mikhail Boychenko was a member of the “Irpin” Territorial Defense Unit, performed combat duty at a checkpoint in the village of Zabuchchia, and gave his life defending Ukraine and his native Bucha district.
Mikhail Boychenko was born and lived in Bucha. He loved football deeply and was an active fan of Kyiv’s “Dynamo” and the Ukrainian national team. In 2013, Mikhail became one of the organizers and key players of the unique team “Phoenix” (Bucha). The team played several seasons in the Kyiv-Sviatoshyn League, and Boychenko, in addition to his managerial role, played as a central defender for “Phoenix.”
He was buried on May 11, 2022, in the village of Kozyntsi, Bucha district. Today, Mikhail Boychenko’s friends have initiated an appeal to the local authorities of the Bucha community, suggesting the renaming of Tarasivska Street, where he lived, to Mikhail Boychenko Street.