25-year-old Senior Lieutenant Vladyslav Ivakhov (callsign Boston) had been fighting against the rashists even before the full-scale invasion. Later, the officer defended Azovstal and endured the hell of captivity. After treatment and rehabilitation, he returned to military service in the Yavoriv District Territorial Recruitment Center (TRC).
Boston was born in the Sumy oblast but spent his entire life in Yavoriv, the Lviv oblast. His decision to become a career officer was shaped by his lineage: on his father’s side, every male ancestor was in the military, and his father is still an officer in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. His mother also served in the AFU at one time.
So the decision was a deliberate one. Vladyslav enrolled in the Hetman Petro Sahaidachny National Academy of Ground Forces and graduated in 2021 with a specialization in "Management of Artillery Reconnaissance Unit Operations".
For some time, the young officer served in the 406th Artillery Brigade, then transferred to the 36th Separate Marine Brigade named after Rear Admiral Mykhailo Bilynskyi. In 2022, he became the commander of an artillery battery.
On February 24, 2022, Boston and his unit held the defense in the Hnutove-Shyrokyne area of the Donetsk oblast.
"On our front, the rashists had already begun intense shelling as early as February 12. There were days when I recorded more than 500 enemy rounds per day! And after February 24, it increased even more—aircraft, tanks...", - the 25-year-old officer recalls.
When the situation became critical in April, the brigade’s warriors, following orders, attempted to break out of the encirclement in several groups. One group, led by the brigade commander, Hero of Ukraine, Colonel Volodymyr Baraniuk, fought their way north to cross the front line and link up with the main forces. Another group of marines, led by Hero of Ukraine, Major Serhiy Volynskyi, managed to reach the Azov Regiment forces at the Azovstal plant in Mariupol, despite massive shelling and fierce firefights. Boston was among this group.
"We left with Volyna in small groups, loading into civilian cars, spreading out across three to four vehicles. In total, there were about 400 of us, with no more than 30 from my unit... Since the command had already identified two possible directions for breaking through the fighting, our group chose to head for Mariupol. We decided to join Azov at Azovstal. Honestly, it was incredibly difficult, but we managed to do it with almost no losses. Unfortunately, we did lose one brother-in-arms—Senior Sailor Oleksandr Havrylevskyi, who was killed by mortar fire. A fragment hit his unprotected neck... A few guys were wounded, including our brigade's chief of staff, who, sadly, is still in enemy captivity. I carried him with the guys for almost one and a half kilometers", - says Senior Lieutenant Ivakhov.
On May 20, following orders from the high command, the encircled Ukrainian garrison at Azovstal laid down its arms. Along with others, Vladyslav Ivakhov was taken prisoner by the rashists.
"I always believed they would get us out. I hoped for it, no matter how hard it was. All 659 days I spent in captivity", - says Boston.
At first, the occupiers tortured our guys in Olenivka. Then came the hellish tour across russia: prisons and penal colonies in Taganrog, Kashin, Voronezh… Boston’s fate also led him to the horrors of Mordovia—the settlement of Udarny, Colony No. 10, known for its brutal regime and the inhumane treatment by its administration.
The officer doesn’t want to recall these trials in detail… But erasing everything he endured from memory is impossible. Among the prison guards were frenzied sadists. Like Moroz from Wagner PMC—this bastard conducted experiments to see how many electric shocks a Ukrainian marine could withstand. Boston endured, even after receiving 1,015 shocks! The torture, both physical and psychological, never stopped.
— Metal or rubber batons, aggressive dogs almost every day… They would ask how you ended up in captivity, and as soon as they heard the word "Mariupol", they beat you mercilessly. They tried to isolate Ukrainian prisoners from the outside world as much as possible, so even russian convicts were kept separately, only interacting as servers of the slop they called food. But in the Mordovian colony, it was pure hell: we stood in our cells for 16 hours straight with no rest, weren’t allowed to talk, weren’t even allowed to relieve ourselves. Any disobedience, no matter how minor, was met with brutal beatings for everyone… And then there was another bastard from the police unit who beat me in the liver with a metal rod. I tried to shield myself with my hand and ended up with severe damage to my left wrist… It works more or less now, but I try not to strain it.
How would the officer react to his executioners now?
— I would kill them. Or first, I’d do to them exactly what they did to us, put them on trial, and then… I’d kill them anyway. One of my comrades is still in captivity. I know exactly what he’s going through every second in those prison dungeons.
The occupiers switched between the stick and the carrot, regularly offering a chance to join their side.
— I personally refused three times because I never trusted them and never will. I told them I had seen the scattered corpses of rashists abandoned in Mariupol, so much for "russians don’t leave their own behind"… And by the way, not a single one of our marines switched sides!
A ray of hope for returning to Ukraine as part of a prisoner exchange appeared on January 24, 2024. Along with other prisoners of war, the officer was already aboard one of the occupiers’ military transport planes. But for reasons unknown at the time, they were all returned to Taganrog. Only on January 31 were our guys finally exchanged. Before captivity, he weighed 105 kg—upon returning from the labor camp, just 61…
Ten months of treatment and medical rehabilitation, 2 months of leave… Vladyslav Ivakhov had every reason to demobilize, but he chose to continue his military service. He received his assignment and transferred to the Yavoriv RTC in the Lviv oblast.
— I always speak to people politely, even though they often insult me or even shove me… But we don’t break anyone’s arms or force them into buses. When someone starts acting aggressively, I tell them my story, show them photos… Most of the time, they lower their eyes, change their tone… But I also often hear attempts to justify their refusal to serve: "Well, you were there, but all the RTCs are corrupt!" I explain it like this: "You’re completely wrong! We all fought… And one of my subordinates, Senior Soldier Mykhailo Lialia, was in Debaltseve. After a severe injury, he now uses a wheelchair. But he still serves the Ukrainian people!" That’s why, as a rule, conflicts don’t arise. The main thing is that everyone must learn to follow the law.
Boston explains the wave of aggression from draft dodgers as follows:
— There’s a systemic effort to discredit RTCs. These are all russian information and psychological operations. They’ll do anything to harm us wherever they can! And unfortunately, some Ukrainians fall for it… The second likely reason is that people are terrified of death. They somehow think the army is just rifles, trenches, and inevitable death. They don’t understand that there are many different roles in the army, and success in battle largely depends on your own preparation and the actions of your comrades! And in this, we have an advantage over the rashists—we just need to realize it.
Prepared by the Public Relations Department of the Communications Directorate of the Western Operational Command of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Photos from the Yavoriv City Council press service and Boston’s personal archive.