Alexander Maciejewski’s mother said: “He would have taken them all if he had a grenade.” Photo: #UKRINFORM/FUTURE PUBLISHING
The mother of a Ukrainian soldier executed by Russian captors came face to face with him again when a life-like statue of him was unveiled on Wednesday.
Alexander Matsievsky 42-year-old man , who was posthumously awarded a medal for bravery, proclaimed “Glory to Ukraine” moments before he was killed by Russian troops near the town of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region.
Footage of his execution in March went viral on social media, and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky later said the sniper had become a symbol of the country's resistance.
Mr Matsievsky, a member of the 119th Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces, was filmed standing alone and smoking a cigarette in a wooded area somewhere in eastern Ukraine.
In a final moment of defiance, he utters “Glory to Ukraine” – the Ukrainian war that lasted several generations. motto – a shot rings out and he falls to the ground.
Alexander Matsievsky proclaimed “Glory to Ukraine!” how he was killed near Bakhmut
On Wednesday, Ukrainian Armed Forces Day, a realistic statue was unveiled depicting Mr. Matsievsky standing in his final, defiant pose at the National Historical and Architectural Museum “Kiev Fortress”.< /p>
Photographers captured the moment when Paraska Maciejewska-Demchuk, his mother, looked into the eyes of the sculpture, tightly clutching the protective shell surrounding it.
“He would have taken them all with him if he had a grenade,” she said late last month when the monument's design was revealed.
“He told me, 'Mom, I'll never let them get me,'” the 68-year-old added. “He didn’t just collect words. It was inside, it was like a core inside him.”
Kyiv opened a war crimes investigation into the death of a 42-year-old soldier.
Zelensky said in a video message in March: “I awarded Alexander Matsievsky the title of Hero of Ukraine.”
“A man whom all Ukrainians will know. A man who will be remembered forever. For his bravery, for his trust in Ukraine and for his “Glory to Ukraine!”
Investigation of war crimes
Last week, Ukraine said it had opened separate investigations into the “execution” of two soldiers by Russia. military personnel shot during surrender.
Staff near the village of Steve, not far from Donetsk, the city of Avdiivka, the place of the most fierce battles, showed the last minutes of the men's lives. One of the soldiers raised his hands as he left the trench, but Russian forces opened fire at point-blank range.
Ruslan Stefanchuk, speaker of the Ukrainian parliament, said: “This is another crime committed by Russian terrorists. Violation of the rules of war. Killing unarmed people.” soldier.
“Russia has once again proven that it is a terrorist country for which there are no laws and norms of international law.”
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