Ukraine’s biggest grain merchant and his wife died on Sunday in a Russian bombardment of the southern city of Mykolaiv, considered by Ukrainian authorities to be the most violent since the start of the war.
According to the Efe news agency, Oleksei Vadatursky, 74 years old and owner of the country’s largest grain trading company (Nibulon), and his wife Raisa Mykhailivna, were two of the victims of the “massive explosion” that hit the city. Mykolive early this morning.
According to Forbes magazine’s 2020 estimate, Oleksiy Vadatursky is worth $450 million (€440 million), making him one of the richest people in the country.
In 2021, your company exported 5.64 million tonnes of agricultural products, mainly maize, wheat and barley, to a total of 38 countries.
The death of the businessman and his wife was confirmed by the governor of the Mykolayiv region, Vitaly Kim.
According to Ukrainian authorities, attacks on Mykolaiv tonight hit and damaged a hotel, two schools, a sports complex and a gas station.
Mykolaiv’s mayor, Oleksandr Senkevych, wrote in a telegram that it was the “most violent” shelling of the city since the beginning of the war, according to AFP in February.
In the same release, the mayor says he heard “loud explosions” twice between Saturday and Sunday.
Already on Friday, at least five people were killed in an attack on a bus stop in the Mykolaiv area.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday called for people in the Donetsk region to evacuate to escape “Russian terrorism” as bombings of cities in the country’s east cause civilian casualties.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk announced the mandatory evacuation of the entire population of Donetsk region, one of two administrative regions in the Donbass region, which is partially controlled by Kiev.
Irina Vereshchuk justified this decision by the destruction of gas networks and the lack of heat in the region next winter.
According to Ukrainian officials, Moscow launched attacks in several cities in Ukraine early Saturday morning.
The attacks were in addition to Friday’s destruction of a prison in Donetsk, where 50 Ukrainian prisoners were killed, and which prompted mutual accusations between Kiev and Moscow over responsibility for the bombing.
Russia launched a military offensive in Ukraine in February that has killed more than 5,100 civilians, according to the UN, which warns that the true number could be much higher.
The Russian invasion was generally condemned by the international community, which responded by sending arms to Ukraine and strengthening economic and political sanctions on Moscow.