Execution of Oleksandr Matsievskyi

On 6 March 2023, a graphic 12-second video began circulating online showing an unarmed man in Ukrainian military uniform standing in a shallow trench in a winter forest, calmly smoking a cigarette. As he says "Slava Ukraini" ("Glory to Ukraine"), he is shot by automatic weapons fire from multiple directions and collapses. Voices speaking Russian are heard saying "Die, bitch." Reports indicated the man had allegedly been forced to dig his own grave beforehand, as a shovel is visible behind him in the hole. The killing is understood to have occurred during the Battle of Bakhmut in late December 2022, in the context of the wider Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The identity of the victim was initially uncertain and debated among open-source intelligence researchers, with more than six names suggested. On 7 March 2023, Ukrainian officials first identified the soldier as Tymofii Shadura, a serviceman of the 30th Mechanized Brigade who had been missing since 3 February near Zaliznianske in Donetsk Oblast; a family member interviewed by BBC News Ukrainian believed she recognized him. By 10 March, Oleksandr Matsievskyi, a 42-year-old soldier deployed to Bakhmut in November 2022 who disappeared on 30 December 2022 following a failed counterattack near Soledar, emerged as a credible alternative due to visual and contextual similarities, including matching bandages. Matsievskyi's remains, described as heavily damaged by gunfire, were exchanged in January 2023, returned to his village by February, and he was buried in Nizhyn, where he had worked as an electrician. Local officials and his family stated they recognized him in the video. Communities connected to both Shadura and Matsievskyi urged caution pending forensic and official confirmation. The Ukrainian government subsequently officially identified Matsievskyi as the man in the video. He was born in Chișinău, Moldova, lived there for 28 years before relocating to Ukraine, and held dual Moldovan–Ukrainian citizenship; his Romanian name was Alexandr Mațievschii.

The video prompted swift reactions from Ukrainian authorities. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly denounced the killing on 6 March 2023, and Ukraine's Security Service opened criminal proceedings the same day. Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin announced charges under Article 438, part 2 of Ukraine's Criminal Code, covering violations of the laws and customs of war. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan to investigate, describing the video as further evidence supporting genocide allegations against Russia. The Verkhovna Rada's human rights commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, called for accountability. On 12 March 2023, Zelenskyy posthumously awarded Matsievskyi the title Hero of Ukraine. Russia did not publicly respond to the incident and has continued to deny committing war crimes in the invasion. On 13 March 2023, Moldova's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration condemned the killing as a war crime. In April 2023, a street in Matsievskyi's hometown of Nizhyn was renamed in his honor, and a statue of him was unveiled there on 25 November 2023.

As of available reporting, no individual perpetrators have been publicly named or charged in connection with the execution.