My unarmed son was executed by Russian troops after declaring ‘glory to Ukraine’ – Putin must be tried for conflict crimes

THE heartbroken mum of a Ukrainian prisoner killed by Russian troops after declaring “glory to Ukraine” insists Vladimir Putin must be tried for conflict crimes in opposition to her son.

Harrowing footage confirmed unarmed Oleksandr Matsievskyi, 42, being riddled with machine gun bullets after taking a remaining drag of his cigarette.

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Moments earlier than he was shot useless by Russian troopers, Matsievskyi pronounced “Slava Ukraini”, which interprets to “glory to Ukraine”.

Oleksandr’s devasted mom Paraska Demchuck, 67, advised how she watched the footage – solely to then realise the courageous soldier was her son.

Paraska, from Nizhyn in northern Ukraine, advised how she cried out in shock after seeing the final moments of her solely son.

She advised The Solar: “I used to be advised in January that Oleksandr was lacking.

“All I had been advised was that there had been a struggle with Russians and he had disappeared.

“His physique was returned in early February as a part of an change of the fallen troopers at that was the primary I knew of his dying.

“After which, as if from heaven, that video turned up. And I cried out ‘Sasha, Sasha’ – my identify for him.

“The whole lot happened like an epiphany – I needed to understand how my son died, after which I noticed it.”

Oleksandr and 4 colleagues engaged in fight with a bigger Russian contingent close to Soledar when he was captured on December 30.

He was filmed standing tall in a shallow trench, smoking, earlier than being shot a number of occasions.

The cold-blooded capturing of Oleksandr, an electrician by commerce, is now the topic of a conflict crimes investigation.

Paraska added: “Once I noticed his look within the video, I realised there was nothing he might do. He understood this was the top.

“We as soon as made an settlement that if he was wounded and was bleeding to dying, he would name me and inform me thrice: ‘Sure, sure, sure!’

“However within the video he stated, ‘Glory to Ukraine!’ And God gave me the chance to listen to these phrases.”

Oleksandr, described as a hard-working, principled and protracted by his mom, signed as much as struggle as quickly because the conflict began.

She stated: “Sasha stated he couldn’t sit again.

“His grandfather defended his homeland throughout World Warfare Two. So he went to conflict with out hesitation.

“The final time I spoke with him was on December 29 – he referred to as me and stated I ought to choose up a package deal with a brand new uniform he had been given.

“He by no means obtained to put on it.”

President Zelensky posthumously bestowed the Hero of Ukraine medal upon the sniper and handed Paraska her son’s Hero of Ukraine award in a ceremony in Kyiv.

He described Oleksandr in a nightly tackle as “’a person whom all Ukrainians will know. A person who will probably be remembered perpetually.”

‘PUTIN SHOULD FACE JUSTICE’

In Oleksandr’s hometown, Nizhyn, a plan is underway to call one of many streets after him. In addition they wish to erect a monument to the courageous soldier.

Paraska at this time welcomed the arrest warrant slapped on Putin for alleged conflict crimes – and stated her son’s dying must be added to the listing.

The Worldwide Felony Court docket has accused the Russian tyrant of the “illegal deportation” of kids from Ukraine – a conflict crime underneath the Geneva Conference.

However Paraska hopes that Putin will someday be referred to as to face justice over her son’s homicide.

She stated: “My son has develop into a logo of the indomitability of the Ukrainian folks and for that I’m extraordinarily proud.

“We hope and imagine that someday he’ll bear duty for all of the conflict crimes dedicated, together with the homicide of Oleksandr.

“He’s a conflict prison and he ought to face justice.”

An investigation by The Solar into Ukraine’s lacking youngsters again in September revealed that hundreds of kids have been deported throughout Putin’s invasion.

Ukraine’s human rights chief, Dmytro Lubinets, has stated 16,226 youngsters had been deported and the nation has managed to carry again simply 308 of them.

The Hague-based courtroom has now stated “there are affordable grounds to imagine that Mr Putin bears particular person prison duty” for the crimes.

Ukraine hailed the arrest warrant as an “historic choice”.

Moscow has repeatedly denied accusations of atrocities throughout its disastrous one-year invasion of Ukraine.

Regardless of the warrant, Putin at this time broke cowl as he was noticed in Crimea.

The Russian President made an look within the disputed Ukrainian territory of Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Putin’s forces in 2014.

Within the brief clip revealed on the Russian social media community VK, Putin, 70, may be seen strolling stiffly together with his head bowed.

He was proven opening an artwork faculty and a youngsters’s centre within the port metropolis of Sevastopol.

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