President Volodymyr Zelenskyy bestowed posthumously the Hero of Ukraine honor on a soldier who defiantly said Glory to Ukraine before being shot dead in a volley of gunfire, an incident shown in a video posted on social media.
Ukraine’s military, on its Telegram channel, confirmed the identity of the soldier as Oleksandr Matsievskyy a sniper with a unit from the northern region of Chernihiv.
The man in a uniform with a Ukrainian flag insignia on his arm was shown smoking a cigarette and saying Slava Ukraini before being shot dead.
Newsmen said that its reporter spoke to Matsievekiy’s mother, Paraska, who said: He stood there unarmed but proud to be Ukrainian. He was always incredibly brave. At this moment, the only weapon he could defend himself with was to say: Slava Ukraini.’
The term Glory to Ukraine is more than a century old but came into general use after Ukraine won independence from Soviet rule.
It has been in widespread use as a greeting during the war, always drawing the response Heroyam Slava Glory to the Heroes.
