Eight years ago, during the rebellious events of Euromaidan, Volodymyr Boikiv, a graduate and former employee of the Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Systems, Lviv Polytechnic, died. An activist, patriot, husband and father, a responsible and conscientious worker who, despite his wife’s wish and a heart attack, still went to the Maidan. This year, on February 5, he would be 67, but three sniper bullets ended his life on February 19, 2014. Volodymyr Boikiv was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine for his civic courage and selfless service to the Ukrainian people.
His colleague Rostyslav Shuliar, a senior lecturer at the Department of Building Structures and Bridges, shared his memories of the Hero of the Heavenly Hundred:
«Volodymyr Boikiv studied at the Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Systems, took a break from training to serve in the army. After graduating from the Institute he remained to work in our research laboratory, under the guidance of Doctor of Science Viktor Kvasha. At that time I worked a lot with him and I can say that Volodymyr was very cheerful and extremely hardworking. He was a very good worker who was responsible for all his duties».
After five years working at Polytechnic, Volodymyr Boikiv left the University and began working on the reconstruction of the State Tax Service on Stryiska Street. He did a good job, and his work as a chief engineer was highly appreciated, so he was entrusted with increasingly responsible tasks. He worked on the implementation of that project almost until its completion.
«After finishing work on Stryiska Street, he moved to Kyiv. However, we still contacted each other. He always was a patriot, and never indifferent to what was happening around», added Rostyslav Shuliar.
Volodymyr Boikiv came to the Maidan on February 18, despite his wife’s wish to stay at home, as he had suffered a heart attack shortly before. On the phone, he told his wife that he should stay here, and later the connection between them was cut off. For five days, the wife searched for her husband in hospitals and morgues, but found out about his death only when activists of the Euromaidan SOS online community posted photos of unidentified bodies. Volodymyr Boikiv was mortally wounded. His youngest son was only 12…
