Oleksandr Baklykov (Photo: Lebedyn City Council)

Oleksandr Baklykov, the mayor of Lebedyn, Sumy Oblast, who joined the army in the fall of 2022, died in the war against Russia, former deputy mayor Olena Kireyeva told public broadcaster Suspilne.

On September 13, 2022, Baklykov announced that he would get mobilized into the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

"<...> I made a decision that I consider the only right one. I went on an official trip to speed up our victory. I know a lot myself and will be able to share it with my younger brothers in arms. In turn, they will teach me something else," he wrote on Facebook.

The mayor of Trostyanets, Yuriy Bova, also reported Baklykov's death.

In 2015, Oleksandr Baklykov was elected to the post of Lebedyn city mayor, and was re-elected in 2020.

4,448 voters voted for him, which is 39.5% of all votes. In total, 10 candidates ran for the position of mayor of Lebedyn.

In September 2021, local councilors voted for the early termination of the powers of Lebedyn mayor. In May 2022, the court reinstated Baklykov.

On March 17, 2024, at the age of 74, former Ukrainian MP, former Luhansk and Zakarpattya regional governor, Hennadiy Moskal, died.

On March 26, at the age of 99, Ukrainian scientist, academician, politician, Hero of Ukraine Ihor Yukhnovskyi passed away.