Oleksiy Opanasovych Vadaturskyi ( uk, Олексій Опанасович Вадатурський; 8 September 1947 – 31 July 2022) was a Ukrainian agricultural and grain logistics businessman and the founder of

Nibulon Nibulon ( uk, Нібулон) is a Ukrainian agricultural company specializing in production and export of grains such as wheat, barley and corn. It is headquartered in Mykolaiv. It is the only agricultural company in Ukraine with its own fleet ...

, the largest grain logistics company in Ukraine. He was one of the wealthiest Ukrainians.

Involvement in the Russo-Ukraine War

In 2014, following the Russian annexation of Crimea and support of separatists in the Donbass regions, Vadaturskyi financed a 2,000-strong militia with army vehicles. In 2018, he became one of 322 Ukrainians blacklisted by Russia. Following the

2022 Russian invasion On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, the blockade of grain exports, and the grain export agreement of 22 July, Vadaturskyi and his businesses were devising solutions to resume the normal flow of Ukrainian grain to foreign countries.

Death

Vadaturskyi was killed with his wife in the early hours of 31 July by Russian missile strikes on the city of

Mykolaiv Mykolaiv ( uk, Миколаїв, ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Southern Ukraine, the Administrative centre, administrative center of the Mykolaiv Oblast. Mykolaiv city, which provides U ...

. Seven or eight Russian missiles hit his house in the Zavodsky district, raising strong suspicions that Vadaturskyi was intentionally targeted and assassinated by Russia to affect the crop export industry of Ukraine. Ukraine stated that the missile which killed Vadaturskyi belonged to the S-300 series of missiles.

Mykhailo Podolyak Mykhailo Mykhailovych Podolyak ( uk, Михайло Михайлович Подоляк; born February 16, 1972) is a Ukrainian politician, journalist and negotiator, serving as the adviser to the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In 202 ...

, an advisor to Ukrainian President

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy, ; russian: Владимир Александрович Зеленский, Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zelenskyy, (born 25 January 1978; also transliterated as Zelensky or Zelenskiy) is a Ukrainian politicia ...

, called the missile strike a "premeditated murder .. ofone of the most important agricultural entrepreneurs in the country"''.'' The attack occurred as the first shipment of grain was getting ready to leave Ukraine on 1 August. The

orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

funeral service for Vadaturskyi on 12 August in a Kyiv cathedral was attended by several hundred people, including the mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Senkevych. Vadaturskyi was succeeded by his son , a politician, married with three children.

Net Worth

In 2021,

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

rated Vadaturskyi's net worth at $430 million and named him as Ukraine's 24th wealthiest person.

Honours

Vadaturskyi was awarded the

Hero of Ukraine Hero of Ukraine (HOU; uk, Герой України, ''Heroi Ukrainy'') is the highest national title that can be conferred upon an individual citizen by the President of Ukraine. The title was created in 1998 by President Leonid Kuchma and as ...

in 2007, the country's highest honour, for his role in the development of Ukrainian agricultural industry. Vadaturskyi was known as non-corruptible and

pro-European Pro-Europeanism, sometimes called European Unionism, is a political position that favours European integration and membership of the European Union (EU).Krisztina Arató, Petr Kaniok (editors). ''Euroscepticism and European Integration''. Polit ...

References

External links