A Ukrainian soldier whose execution by a barrage of bullets was captured on camera and went viral has been identified, SBU security services confirmed on Sunday in Kyiv.
Oleksandr Igorovich Matsievsky, a sniper with the 163rd battalion of the territorial defense brigade in the Chernihiv region of northeastern Ukraine, was identified as the perpetrator by SBU investigators. He was 42 years old.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine lauded Matsievsky’s “bravery” and declared him a Hero of Ukraine in Sunday’s State of the Nation address.
A “soldier, a person who will be remembered forever” by his fellow Ukrainians, according to Zelensky, Matsievsky will always be remembered as such.
The military initially identified two different servicemen, creating confusion over the identity of the fallen soldier.
The captured Ukrainian soldier can be heard saying, “Glory to Ukraine” before being shot dead with multiple automatic weapons.
Matsievsky, a native of Moldova, was among five Ukrainian servicemen captured in the Donetsk area, according to the Northern Ukrainian military’s regional department.
His mother had recently spoken on camera to confirm her son’s identity, which had been circulating in the media.
Based on “communication with relatives of the deceased, analysis of photos and videos, and the forensic medical examination,” the SBU claimed to have positively identified Matsievsky.
In a press release, SBU chief Vasyl Malyouk hailed the man as a “true hero” for demonstrating “the character and how indomitable Ukrainians are” in the face of death.
The Ukrainian security services, Malyouk said, are working to identify the Russian soldiers responsible for “this bloody crime.”
