Ukrainian acrobat swaps Cirque du Soleil for tank battles

Volodymyr Boichuk, known by his call sign Baidar, has traded the spotlight of international circus performances for a T-72 tank in Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion. A former professional acrobat and Cirque du Soleil performer, Boichuk now serves as a mechanic/driver in the Azov 12th Special Operations Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine.

From competitions to international circus rings

Boichuk’s interest in sports and acrobatics began in childhood and continued throughout adolescence. For 12 years, he performed daring aerial acrobatics and was a member of Ukraine’s national team, winning silver at the World Sports Acrobatics Championships.

A few years later, Volodymyr Boichuk and his colleagues were invited to work in Germany: German top chef and restaurateur Alfons Schuhbeck and businessman Thomas Krauth wanted to create a musical dinner show involving circus performers and acrobats.

“It was a completely different world and very good money: when you’re offered a salary 70 times more than you had, you feel the difference. As soon as I got into circus arts and the show community, I realized that I’d never go back to competitive sports. It was pure magic! We performed in evening shows and gala concerts. The life of a circus performer is wonderful: one day, you perform in one country, the next day – in another. New friends, emotions, sensations, parties… Before the war, I just enjoyed life. It was my reward for all that hard training.”

Mastering a tank and military life

Boichuk’s journey from acrobat to soldier began on 24 February 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He was on a train to Odesa Oblast, returning home to Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi to renew his work documents when news of the war broke. Initially, Boichuk evacuated with his family to western Ukraine, struggling with the decision to join the military or continue his circus career abroad.

“There was this internal struggle: I’m an artist, I perform in the circus. Well, why in the world would I go to war?” Boichuk says in an interview with Circus Life.

However, reports of atrocities in Bucha, where Russian soldiers committed over 9,000 war crimes and executed over 1,400 civilians in a brief period of occupation in 2022, solidified his resolve. After arranging for his family’s safety in France, Boichuk joined the Azov 12^th Special Purpose Brigade in September 2022. He explains that he wanted to fight alongside the best—the “real tigers”—in the most difficult areas.

The transition from circus performer to soldier was not easy. Boichuk’s first challenge was passing the strict selection process for volunteers.

“I first faced the young soldier’s training course… and it was no walk in the park! I was sure my physical shape was good. I could withstand any load or any physical exertion. But on ‘day zero,’ I realized how wrong I was! Running, non-stop squats, standing at attention for several hours – your legs buckle, your back stiffens like a rod. At this stage, half the recruits dropped out – some crawling because they could no longer walk, others puking by the roadside. It wasn’t what I expected!”

Azov tank training

Boichuk became a tank crewman by chance, raising his hand to volunteer without realizing what he was signing up for. His initial training involved mastering complex theory, a new vocabulary, practicing on simulators, and finally operating a real tank.

At first, he found this huge metal carcass extremely uncomfortable and claustrophobic. Accustomed to flying freely in the air and performing aerial acrobatics in large open spaces, he felt that only a fool would sit in a stuffy closed-in space and peer through a tiny slit. But, hard work and daily training on simulators and in the field molded Baidar into an effective and versatile tank crewman.

“I’m not exaggerating: I walked around this huge thing with a child’s curiosity. This is the gun barrel? And this is where it fires from? And what’s this, a hatch? Wow!” he describes.

Boichuk’s first combat mission in a tank was a baptism by fire. Deployed to support infantry facing an enemy breakthrough, he found himself navigating through mud with severely limited visibility. He could not distinguish much, less and less with each minute, just the vague outlines of the road. There were hundreds of challenges, yet Boichuk completed the mission successfully, earning his Azov chevron from his commander.

Since then, Boichuk has participated in numerous operations. He describes the hardest part of war is the waiting.

“It’s one thing knowing that you must act, get there as soon as possible and help the guys out… and it’s another thing waiting, camouflaged, for hours… Sometimes 8, 10, 12 hours. It’s terribly cold and freezing, and you can’t even light a fire to warm up. This waiting for the battle itself is the hardest.”

Baidar and Tenor return home in a new Russian tank

In early April 2024, Boichuk took part in a significant operation near the village of Terny in Donetsk Oblast. The Azov Brigade, along with other units, stopped a column of Russian tanks, destroying 11 vehicles and killing about 50 enemy combatants. The operation also resulted in the capture of a brand-new Russian T-72B3M tank equipped with technological innovations.

During the failed assault, Russian forces lost a fully operational T-72B3M tank, which was abandoned by its crew on the battlefield due to control issues. Infantry and FPV drone operators from the 12^th Azov Special Forces Brigade, along with adjacent units, eliminated the enemy tank crew. The tank was prepared for evacuation over the course of three days.

In the YouTube video below, Volodymyr Boichuk provides a detailed account of the tank retrieval operation (English subtitles):

“We realized the tank was intact, and the order came to retrieve it. Our group went in earlier and examined it thoroughly – the barrel was completely lowered onto the driver’s compartment, and the entire track was threaded with concertina wire. It looked like the tank had wound the wire around its tracks, rammed into an IFV (infantry fighting vehicle), and stalled.

The next day, we set out to raise the turret and barrel. We found ourselves taking cover under the tank for an hour and a half while a wounded soldier was evacuated nearby. The stench of surrounding Russian corpses was unbearable.

On the final day, “Tenor” and I, both drivers/mechanics, set out to recover the prize tank. First, we needed to change the tank’s batteries, each weighing 70 kilograms. Infantry troops helped transport them using wheelbarrows. During the entire operation, we endured incoming fire while unloading and dragging the heavy batteries.

While connecting the batteries, I examined a neighboring knocked-out IFV. I initially thought the vehicle was poorly maintained due to the grease covering it. Then I realized it wasn’t grease all over me, but the body remains or what was left of the driver from an explosion under the seat.

We managed to start the tank and drive off but immediately hit a huge crater from a guided air bomb impact. “Tenor” smashed his head against the hatch, briefly losing consciousness. Despite bleeding profusely, his nose fractured, “Tenor” kept driving, periodically blacking out and zigzagging for seconds at a time. I operated as a navigator in the turret but took over driving in the last leg of the operation.

Many people contributed to this successful operation: reconnaissance, infantry, and sappers. The captured tank turned out to be the latest production model, manufactured in 2022 or 2023.”

For his role in the successful operation, Boichuk was awarded leave to visit his daughter abroad.

Dreams of victory and return to the circus ring

Despite his current role as a tank crewman, Boichuk dreams of returning to his circus career after Ukraine’s victory. He believes Ukrainian circus performers are unique professionals who deserve protection and recognition:

“Everyone in the world knows that Ukraine has the best circus performers. At any festival or championship, they always win prizes and victories. It takes hard work and many years to train a professional athlete, a circus performer – there aren’t that many such people around. They represent our country abroad. They need to be protected. So that we can hope that we’ll be able to show our tricks and talents on the world stage again someday.”

Volodymyr Boichuk’s journey from the circus ring to the battlefield exemplifies the diverse backgrounds of those who have stepped up to defend Ukraine. His story highlights the personal sacrifices made by many Ukrainians in the face of war, as well as the hope for a return to normalcy and the pursuit of their passions and careers in a peaceful future.

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