Founder of Major Ukrainian Agriculture Firm Killed in Russian Strike, Ukraine Says

The general director of a major Ukrainian agriculture company was killed in Russian shelling in the southern city of Mykolaiv on July 31, according to the head of the Mykolaiv regional state administration.

Oleksiy Vadatursky, 74, and his wife, Raisa Mykhailivna Vadaturska, died in overnight shelling, officials said. Ukrainska Pravda, citing a government source, reported the couple’s house was struck.

Vadatursky, pictured here on his company’s website, was the founder and general director of Nibulon which specializes in exporting wheat, barley and corn. The company is headquartered in Mykolaiv.

Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych said the shelling was “possibly the strongest” to hit the city since the start of the war, according to a machine translation.

Footage by Kostantin and Vlada Liberovy shows smoke rising, several damaged buildings, and a large crater. Liberovy said the footage of a damaged residential building is Vadatursky’s house. This has not been independently confirmed by Storyful. Credit: Konstantin and Vlada Liberovy/LIBKOS via Storyful