[2][3] Petro Fedorovych Bolbochan was born on 5 October 1883[1] in the village of Yarivka (Romanian: Hâjdeul de Sus), in the Bessarabia Governorate of the Russian Empire (now in the Chernivtsi Oblast of Ukraine) in the family of a Moldovan Orthodox priest, Fedir Oleksiyovych Bolbochan.

[1] Despite Bolbochan's resistance, the regiment was disarmed and the barracks blown up, killing a number of soldiers.

[1] In January 1918 Bolbochan created a new military formation that became the 2nd Zaporizhzhia infantry group, later regiment.

[1] On 2 March 1918, the 2nd Zaporizhzhia Regiment, led by Bolbochan, was the first to enter Kyiv, ahead of the Imperial German Army, and took control of the city without Bolshevik resistance.

[1] Bolbochan was arrested for criticizing the inconsistent policies of the Ukrainian People's Republic government, convicted by a court-martial, and shot.