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Oleg Leonidovich Voishytskyi

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Oleg Voishytskyi
Born(1986-03-17)March 17, 1986
Odessa, USSR (now Odesa, Ukraine)
OccupationBusinessman
Known forPhilanthropic projects supporting Ukrainian Orthodox Church
Children2
AwardsOrder of Prince Yaroslav the Wise (2021)

Oleg Leonidovich Voishytskyi (Ukrainian: Олег Леонідович Войшицький, romanized: Oleg Leonidovich Voishytskyi; born 17 March 1986) is a Ukrainian businessman, construction company owner, philanthropist, and social activist.

Biography

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Oleg Voishytskyi was born on 17 March 1986 in Odesa, former USSR, nowadays, Ukraine. The boy was raised in a deeply religious family that respected the principles of Christianity. Oleg’s ancestors had deep ecclesiastical and historical roots in the Eastern Orthodox Church and nobility. His paternal great-grandfather was an Orthodox priest murdered during the Stalinist Cleansings (The Great Purge).[1] His great-grandmother was a descendant of the Russian Empire nobility. That’s why the Voishytskyi family retained their deep faith during the Soviet Union's purges of Orthodox Christians and religious people.

Since early childhood, Oleg has been engaged in various sports activities. During his school time, he studied karate in the Tigrenok (en: Tiger Cub) karate sports club under the guidance of coach Alexander Negaturov.[2] While studying karate, Oleg took part in various state-wide competitions. Besides karate, Voishytskyi also practiced boxing for a while under the guidance of a famous boxing coach, Boris Manykin. Then, he turned to Muay Thai and trained at the Captain Odessa gym.

Along with sports, Oleg grew up religious and interested in the history of Christianity. Further, his juvenile interest in Eastern Orthodox Christianity and his family history inspired him in his philanthropy initiatives.

As a successful entrepreneur in the construction business, Oleg Voishytskyi contributed to the development of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate). His charity projects included investments in the construction of churches on the territory of Ukraine, restoration of ancient monasteries, which are the historical heritage of Ukraine, and overall support of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church community.

While living in his native city of Odesa, Oleg Voishytsky became one of the most dedicated philanthropists, although his activity wasn’t broadly highlighted in the mass media.

With the escalating tension between UOC (MP) and OCU, which separated from it, and especially after the beginning of persecutions of UOC (MP) after the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014, when on 2 December 2022 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy entered a bill to the Verkhovna Rada that would officially ban all activities of the UOC in Ukraine, Oleg Voyshitskyi and his family were forced to leave Ukraine to apply for asylum on religious grounds.

First, the family settled in Berlin, Germany. After residing for 4 months in Berlin, Oleg and his family moved to the United Kingdom, and since that time, Voishytskyi has been a resident of East Sussex.

Family

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Oleg Voishytskiy was born to a family couple:

  • Elena Voishytskaya, born 1966, Odesa, USSR
  • Leonid Voishytskyi, 1966-2005, Obodivka, Vinnytsia Oblast, USSR

His family members include:

  • Oleg Voishytskyi (Sr.) – paternal uncle, Master of Sports in Freestyle Wrestling, winner of the Coup of Ukraine, and a two-time Bundesliga (Germany) finalist.
  • Archimandrite Gabriel (Anisimov) – a cousin, the father superior of the Stavropegial Men's Monastery of St. Paisius Velichkovsky (Crimea), has resided in Italy since 2023.[3]

Oleg Voishitskyi is married to Maria Voyshytskaya (nee Braslavets), born on 14 August 1985. Maria Voishytskaya works in the East Sussex County Council.

The couple has two children:

  • Gleb Voishytskyi
  • Veronika Voishytskaya

Education

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Oleg Voishytskyi graduated from High School 58 in Odessa in 2003. While studying at school, he actively took part in social activities. Being a senior pupil, he took part as an honour guard at the Monument of the Unknown Sailor on public holidays and ceremonial occasions.[4]

After graduating from high school, Oleg Voyshitskyi entered the Marinesko Maritime Professional College, a subdivision of the Odesa Maritime Academy.

Business career

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Although he was a professional sailor, Oleg Voishytskyi started his career as an entrepreneur in Odessa. First, he worked as a sole proprietor (SP Voishytskyi O L) engaged in food production, entitled DiSAI.[5] Further, he launched the construction company Hand-Bud Company, LLC, which focused on construction projects and their sales.[6] The company successfully operated in Ukraine. Its projects included residential and commercial buildings, and in terms of philanthropic activity, Hand-Bud Company was engaged in multiple church building and restoration projects supported by Oleg Voishytskyi.

Religious Views

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As a descendant of a priesthood family, Oleg Voishytsky, since his early years,was a parishioner of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Moscow Patriarchate. His cousin, Archimandrite Gabriel (Anisimov), is the deputy of the Stavropegial Men's Monastery of St. Paisius Velichkovsky (Crimea). Oleg Voishytskyi was the secretary of the Spiritual Assembly during the registration of the monastery in Sevastopol and signed the founding documents. At that time, the monastery adhered to a pro-Ukrainian policy even after Crimea was unilaterally annexed by Russia in March 2014. After the Voyshitskyi family and Archimandrite Gabriel (Anisimov) left Ukraine, the monastery changed its policy to pro-Russian.[7]

Since he moved to East Sussex, Oleg Voishytskyi has been a parishioner of the Brighton Unitarian Church.

Ukrainian Orthodox Church Philanthropy Projects

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Oleg Voishytskyi contributed his funds and provided fundraising projects for the support of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The list of his philanthropic initiatives includes:

Awards

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In 2021, Oleg Voishitskyi was awarded the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise. Charter No. 1315 was signed by His Beatitude Onufriy, Metropolitan of Kyiv and all of Ukraine. The award was presented on October 7, 2021, in Kyiv, for personal services to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Coat of Arms

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Regarding the nobility descendance of the family of Voishytskiy, in 2023, the family coat of arms was registered with the Ukrainian Heraldry Society (No. 906 in the Register of Special Symbols). The author is heraldist A. V. Dniprovskiy. The motto of the coat of arms: Vita sine libertate nihil (from Latin: "Life without freedom is nothing").[8]

See Also

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References

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  1. ^ "Репрессированное духовенство: как большевистская власть пыталась уничтожить украинскую церковь (ВИДЕО)". International Ukrainian TV channel FREEDOM. 2019-08-06. Retrieved 2025-06-16.
  2. ^ "Воспитанники клуба". Спортивный клуб «Тигрёнок». 2025-06-08. Retrieved 2025-06-16.
  3. ^ "Zelensky Proposes Barring Orthodox Church That Answers to Moscow". The New York Times. 2022-12-02. Retrieved 2025-06-16.
  4. ^ "Memorial to the Unknown Sailor, Odessa, Ukraine". 2012-09-09. Retrieved 2025-06-16.
  5. ^ "Oleg Voyshitskiy on DiSAI". Retrieved 2025-06-16.
  6. ^ "Hand-Bud Company, LLC on Clarityproject". Retrieved 2025-06-16.
  7. ^ "Поки УПЦ (МП) заявляє про незалежність — у її ставропігійних монастирях прославляють Росію та СРСР". DF News. 2025-05-22. Retrieved 2025-06-16.
  8. ^ "№ 906 Олег Леонідович і Гліб Олегович ВОЙШИЦЬКИЙ, Олена Володимирівна, Марія Анатоліївна та Вероніка Олегівна ВОЙШИЦЬКА (Льюїс, Велика Британія)". Ukrainian Heraldry Society. Retrieved 2025-06-16.
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