The National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War hosted a memorial event as part of the “Heroes of War” educational series to honour the memory of the courageous military fighter pilot, flight commander of the 831st Myrhorod Tactical Aviation Brigade of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Major Ivan Bolotov. The event brought together the defender’s closest loved ones, the Air Force command, his comrades-in-arms, educators, members of the clergy and the public.
The military dimension of 24-year-old Major Bolotov’s courage and professionalism was highlighted in a speech by Colonel Yurii Bulavka, Deputy Commander of Aviation of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He had personally taught Ivan aerial combat and spent many hours with him in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. During his service, Ivan mastered the L-39 training aircraft as well as the MiG-29 and Su-27 fighter jets, carrying out 25 combat sorties to engage enemy targets and provide cover for troops.
> “However much I spoke with him and trained him, he was always positive and prepared for every combat sortie... Sadly, the enemy gave him no chance of surviving in that situation. On 2 February 2025, he departed on his final combat flight and remained there forever,” Colonel Yurii Bulavka recalled.
Vitalii Yemelianenko, Deputy Head of the Darnytsia District State Administration in Kyiv, spoke on behalf of the capital’s community to pay tribute to Ivan. He noted that it was thanks to Ivan’s heroic deed that Ukrainian children could study under their own national flag.
Ivan’s teachers shared memories that revealed how the future aviator’s character had developed. From 2006 to 2015, Ivan attended Kyiv General Education School No. 289 (now Kyiv Lyceum No. 289). His form teacher, Natalia Morska, recalled that he was a conscientious pupil who genuinely loved mathematics. Natalia Mykolaivna remembered an incident during a physical education lesson when, after an unsuccessful kick at a ball, Ivan was thought to have injured his leg. While his classmates joked about it, he responded with a smile and without the slightest aggression, never letting his school community down. Tetiana Pluhova, Headteacher of Kyiv Lyceum No. 289, spoke about a decision by the Kyiv City State Administration concerning the initiative to name the school after Ivan Bolotov and establish a school memorial museum on its premises.
> “A people who remember the names of their heroes have a future... We want his name to be heard in our corridors and to remind our pupils of the price of freedom,” Ms Tetiana said.
Ivan Bolotov carried on a distinguished family tradition in aviation: his great-grandfather, Volodymyr Baiankin, was a first-class test pilot, while his grandfather, Stanislav Zakharchenko, was a military fighter pilot. The family spent 14 years living at the garrison of the 831st Myrhorod Brigade. The hero’s mother, Olena Zakharchenko, recalled that, despite his family’s initial reservations, his aviation heritage prevailed: in May, towards the end of ninth grade, Ivan declared categorically that he wanted to become a military pilot. He began his journey at the Ivan Bohun Kyiv Military Lyceum.
Yurii Hotsak, a lieutenant colonel in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and a former unit commander at the lyceum, remembered Ivan as a cheerful, smiling presence who was the life and soul of the group. Pavlo Nikitiuk, an officer in the Armed Forces of Ukraine who had studied alongside Ivan at the Bohun Lyceum, expressed deep gratitude to his parents for raising a true defender.
In 2017, Ivan enrolled at the Ivan Kozhedub Kharkiv National Air Force University. His mother recalled his euphoric phone call directly from the field after his first parachute jump with an unfolded canopy. Lieutenant Colonel Valerii Chystov, the officer in charge of his cadet course at the university, shared a memory of a stern formation held over a cadet disciplinary incident: Ivan’s restrained smile made the course commander himself laugh, turning a disciplinary address into a friendly conversation.
After graduating in 2021, Ivan began serving in the 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade before later transferring to the 831st Myrhorod Brigade.
In 2023, Ivan married his beloved Anastasiia. In a video message, his wife recounted a little-known heroic act by her husband in a Su-27 combat trainer. During high-speed turns with the afterburner engaged, the cockpit canopy was damaged in flight. The instructor was wounded by fragments and held on to the remaining glazing, while communication with the ground and within the cockpit was lost. Ivan kept his composure, reduced his speed to allow oxygen to be supplied and skilfully landed the fighter without radio communication, saving his comrade’s life and the aircraft.
In a video message, his comrade-in-arms and fellow Su-27 pilot Oleksandr recalled a meeting after another large-scale enemy attack. Rather than discussing the battle, they joyfully congratulated each other on becoming fathers, as both had recently had children.
Ivan’s best friend, Air Force Major Illia, who had been alongside him from the Bohun Lyceum to combat duty with the 831st Brigade, said that Ivan had earned the call sign “SIR” for his refined manners and fluency in English. His comrade recalled how Ivan defended his degree project in English and passed the selection tests for the F-16.
24-year-old Major Ivan Bolotov was killed on 2 February 2025 while carrying out a combat mission. His mother, Olena Stanislavivna, recalls that, in their final telephone conversation, her son’s voice sounded inexplicably happy, and Ivan said his usual words: “Everything will be all right.” The farewell ceremony for the hero took place at Baikove Cemetery, while his ashes were interred in the Alley of Heroes at the Lukianivka Memorial Reserve in Kyiv. Lieutenant Colonel Andrii Anatoliiovych Drachyshyn, Deputy Commander of the 831st Tactical Aviation Brigade for Personnel Psychological Support, spoke about the aviation tradition of “burning a piano” on the runway while the fallen pilots’ favourite melodies are played, symbolising their final flight. A prayer for the repose of Ivan and his comrades-in-arms was offered by military chaplain Father Serhii Hlushko.
For his courage and valour, Major Ivan Bolotov was awarded the President of Ukraine’s “For the Defence of Ukraine” distinction, the Minister of Defence’s “Cross of Special Merit”, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine’s “Combatant’s Cross” badge and the Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine’s badge (posthumously).
A particularly significant part of the event was the donation by Ivan’s parents, Olena Stanislavivna Zakharchenko and Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Bolotov, of unique artefacts to the War Museum’s collection for permanent preservation. The donated items included:
- a LEGO model of a Su-27 fighter jet, which Ivan assembled himself in the first days of his studies from a set given to him by his comrades-in-arms;
- his first flight suit, ordered from the United States, which he wore on his first flights;
- his first watch and a bracelet with a parachute line cutter, given to him by his father for cutting parachute lines in an emergency.
These commemorative objects will now preserve within the Museum a living memory of the brave pilot with the call sign “SIR”.
Major Ivan Bolotov gave his life defending Ukraine’s skies, but the light of his heroic deed, his sincere smile and his devotion to his homeland will remain with us forever.
We remember every Hero. Glory to Ukraine!
