Maxim “Banni” Zaychenko is a fan of the football club “Dynamo” (Kiev), a representative of the movement “White Boys Club”.
Maxim Nikolaevich Zaychenko was born on June 7, 2001 in the village of Maksimovichi (Kiev region). He studied at the Synyakovsky Lyceum of Kyiv region, and later entered the State Tax University of Irpin. According to the memories of his relatives, he was very purposeful and diligent in his studies. From the first attempt, he entered the university and was on scholarship all the time. He was confident in his knowledge, completed his bachelor's degree perfectly and planned to enter the master's degree.
Relatives recall that Maxim was interested in football all his conscious life. From the third to the 9th grade he worked in the club “Dinaz” in Liutizh (Kiev region). The player's career did not work out, because the section was at a considerable distance from home, and later in his life there was a fan movement. He was also engaged in boxing for a while. Once in the sector, he was not part of a separate ultra-team, but focused on supporting the team. He loved to travel and gladly went to away matches following the team.
After graduation, Maxim managed to work in one of the bank branches, and devoted his free time to supporting his favorite team and traveling in the mountains, he was very fond of snowboarding. Having problems with his back, he could not join the Armed Forces. But the desire to help the army was only stronger, so he opened an online store in which he sold clothes with Ukrainian symbols and financially supported the military.
At the beginning of a full-scale war, Maxim's native village was on the occupied part of the Kiev region. All information necessary for registration for military service was lost. But this did not change anything in his desire to take up arms, so in March 2023, “Bunny” joined the ranks of the 12th Special Purpose Brigade “Azov” of the NGU.
He took part in the battles in the Zaporizhzhya direction, in particular in the district of the village. Mala Tokmachka. I could not imagine my life without travel and football. Ekaterina, his beloved girl, told during the rotation after the Zaporizhzhya n-ku that most of all he is afraid not to die in battle, but to lose his legs, because he will not be able to live without football and mountains. He also said: “To die is not scary. It's scary that your brothers will go to battle without you.”
Friends recall that Maxim had many plans for the future: projects, trips and any crazy ideas, which in his head immediately turned into specific dates on the calendar. To realize all this, 10 lives would not be enough.
In the memories of the fighters, “Bunny” will remain a brave and positive brother, who could tell absolutely everything and know that after talking with him the mood would be at a high. Support from Maxim made him for others not just a friend, but a brother.
On September 7, 2023, Maxim Zaychenko was seriously wounded while performing a combat mission in the area of Serebryansky forestry near Kreminna in Luhansk region. While waiting for evacuation, he imposed himself on the flame, and was subsequently taken to the hospital of the city of Dnipro.
One of the moments that struck and was forever imprinted in the memory of the brothers: after a serious injury, Maxim was conscious and before the evacuation asked the guys to move the Azov chevron from the body armor to his ubax. Unfortunately, being hit by a large number of fragments, amputation of both legs and a collection of wounds left no chance. On September 11, his heart stopped beating.
Maxim was buried in the village of Struga (Khmelnytsky region), where his mother and sister moved during a full-scale invasion. He was awarded the Order “For Courage” of the 3rd degree (posthumously).
