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This was meant to be a story about a Master of Sports of Ukraine of international class in rifle shooting, who voluntarily joined the Defense Forces and served on the frontline in a combat brigade.
We had contacted him and planned a day for an online interview. The soldier asked us to wait three more days — and after his next combat mission, our long-awaited conversation was to take place… But unfortunately, that mission became Oleksii Khabarov’s last. He will forever remain 31.
Oleksii Khabarov was a Master of Sports of Ukraine of international class in rifle shooting, multiple-time champion and medalist of Ukrainian and international competitions, and a member of Ukraine’s national team.
He often stood on the highest steps of the podium: winning at Ukrainian Championships and Cups, earning medals at international tournaments. As recently as November 2024, he brought home a silver medal from an international rifle shooting mixed team event in Romania.
An introver who loved cinnabons
Svitlana Boikova teaches shooting at the Olympic College in Kyiv. She was Oleksii Khabarov’s coach. They were also fellow townspeople — both from Horishni Plavni in the Poltava region — so beyond sports, they were simply friends.
“We started out at the same shooting range, and we even had the same first coach,” — Svitlana recalls.
She first heard about Oleksii thanks to his high results in sports. In 2024, when Khabarov was already in the army, she became his coach.
“Most people who practice rifle shooting are introverts. Oleksii himself used to say so — in fact, that’s why we were friends, because I’m like that too (smiles). After he was mobilized, sometimes when he came to visit on weekends, I always cooked something tasty for him. He loved cinnabons. And he constantly sent me funny videos in messengers,” — Svitlana says with a smile.
“Oleksii built everything on trust in his work”
Oleksii Khabarov also founded the Phoenix shooting club in Horishni Plavni. He was a role model for his young students, who became prizewinners at Ukrainian championships.
“First Oleksii worked as a coach at a sports school, and later he decided to open his own club. Together with his brother, they found a building, invested a significant portion of their own money, and later found a sponsor. They did the renovations themselves.
He wasn’t just a coach, but also a friend to his students. His trainees also showed very high results, almost all of them joined the national team. One of them even competed in the European Championship… Oleksii built everything on trust in his work. Everyone knows that he was kind, honest, even a bit naïve,” — Svitlana Boikova recalls.
Now, Oleksii’s brother has taken over the shooting club, promising to develop it and never abandon the cause.
Oleksii never gave up sports — he ran a lot.
“Lately, he said his back was bothering him, so he did exercises to strengthen his back muscles. Shooting puts a heavy load on the spine, since you have to remain static while holding a rifle. Although the rules have changed somewhat: earlier the longest exercise lasted almost three hours, and now it’s an hour and a half,” — explains his coach.
According to Svitlana, during combat missions, Oleksii Khabarov tried to rescue cats from danger.
“These cats would come to the positions, and he would evacuate them. Once he asked me how to save a pregnant cat so it wouldn’t die in dangerous conditions — in the end, he carried it out in a sack (smiles). It’s hard enough for people to leave positions, but he saved cats,” — she recalls.
“Oleksii saved my life”
In August 2023, Oleksii joined the Defense Forces of Ukraine. Later he was assigned to a combat unit, trained as a sniper, and carried out combat missions on the frontline. The precision and composure he had honed for years in sport now served him well in the army.
Professional rower Andrii Mykhailov now serves in one of the combat units of the 33rd Separate Mechanized Brigade — he fought alongside Oleksii Khabarov.
“We met already in the unit. Oleksii served in Kyiv, I was in Kherson. Our sports were completely different. I’ll put it this way: if all soldiers were like Oleksii — highly intelligent, proactive, always engaged in self-improvement — we would already be standing under Moscow. He always tried to learn something new to be more professional and to help his brothers-in-arms more,” — Andrii told ArmyInform.
Andrii recalls an incident on the frontline when Khabarov saved his life.
“We were carrying out a combat mission. An FPV drone on fiber optics flew in, aiming straight at me. Oleksii Khabarov shot it down. The drone fell nearby — I was hit by small fragments: the larger ones were removed, but some smaller ones remained in my leg. Oleksii saved my life.”
Enemy ambush on the Pokrovsk front: “Unfortunately, the best are killed”
Oleksii’s final mission took place on the Pokrovsk front in Donetsk region. He was killed in a firefight with a numerically superior enemy.
“The task was to locate and rescue people. Oleksii was the group leader. Unfortunately, he was killed. This is a huge loss not only for our unit but for the entire country. Because Oleksii, as a coach, could have achieved so much more. He could have saved dozens more lives. And trained hundreds of professional athletes. The best are the ones who are killed,” — Andrii Mykhailov says.
Svitlana Boikova adds: Oleksii was not one of those who tolerated the rhetoric that “sports are beyond politics.” His voluntary decision to join the Defense Forces proved it.
“We now train at the Central Sports Club of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Young athletes understand everything — many of them have fathers serving in the army. Almost all athletes are serving, including many members of the national team who are in the military,” — Svitlana Boikova summarizes.
ArmyInform expresses its sincere condolences to the family, friends, teammates, and brothers-in-arms of Oleksii. Our mission is to remember, to avenge, and to remain true to the values that champion and warrior Oleksii Khabarov stood for and gave his life for.
Photo from the personnel archive of Svitlana Boikova
