Oleh Anatoliyovych Svynchuk ( Ukrainian: Олег Анатолійович Свинчук; 12 September 1992 – 8 March 2022) was a Ukrainian soldier of the 14th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the

Armed Forces of Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are the Military, military forces of Ukraine. All military and security forces, including the Armed Forces, are under the command of the president of Ukraine and subject to oversight by a permanent Verkhovna Rad ...

, a participant of

Russian-Ukrainian war The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

, and a

Hero of Ukraine A Hero of Ukraine (HOU; ) is the highest national decoration that can be conferred upon an individual citizen by the president of Ukraine. The decoration was created in 1998 by President Leonid Kuchma. As of 6 June 2025, the total number of re ...

(posthumously).

Military career

Oleh Svynchuk was born on 12 September 1993 in the village of Berezhtsi (currently part of Vyshnivska hromada) Liuboml Raion of

Volyn Oblast Volyn Oblast () or simply Volyn (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in northwestern Ukraine. It borders Rivne Oblast to the east, Lviv Oblast to the south, Poland to the west and Belarus to the north. Its Capital city ...

. In 2021, he finished Rymachi secondary school. He joined Armed forces of Ukraine when he was 22 years old, where he served a term of service from 25 June until 24 November 2016. On the 25 March 2021, Oleh signed a contract to be part of a military service. He became a tankman in 14th Separate Mechanized Brigade. During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine he heroically served his duty protecting the northern parts of Ukraine with outnumbered Russian force.

Russian invasion of Ukraine

On 8 March 2022, three tank crews of the 14th Brigade took part in the fight to liberate the city of

Makariv Makariv () is a rural settlement in Bucha Raion, in Kyiv Oblast (province) of Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Makariv settlement hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. The population of the settlement is , down from 12,042 in 2001. ...

from Russian occupiers. Serhii Vasich, another tankman of the 14th Brigade, managed to shoot a Russian tank from the first shot. One after another the occupants of the tanks were caught in fire. Russian infantry started to run away, soon they spotted the position of the Ukrainian tankmen, and called for artillery backup. Manoeuvring the Ukrainian's tankmen destroyed the enemy. The tank of senior sergeant Vasich entered occupant's flank and started firing high-explosive shells, kicking out infantry. Together three tank crews destroyed six units of machinery and significant force of enemy power. This allowed them to push back the enemy and during the counterattack the Ukrainian army liberated an important Kyiv locality, the urban-type settlement Makariv. However, an enemy anti-tank guided missile hit a Ukrainian T-64BV tank: it detonated ammunition and tore down a turret. The crew consisting of the commander of the senior sergeant Serhiy Vasich, the soldier Oleh Svynchuk and the senior soldier were lost in battle.

Family

Oleh was the youngest son in a large family. He was not married and had no children.

Awards

* The title of "

" with the Order of the Golden Star (2022, posthumously) — for personal courage and heroism shown in defense of state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, loyalty to the

military oath A military oath, also known as the oath of enlistment or swearing-in is an oath delivered by a conscript or volunteer upon enlisting into the state's armed forces. Various states have different phrasings of the oath, with the common component be ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Svynchuk, Oleh 1992 births 2022 deaths Ukrainian military personnel killed in the Russian invasion of Ukraine Recipients of the title of Hero of Ukraine People from Volyn Oblast