On Sunday, Russian rocket strikes on the port city of Mykolaiv killed a prominent Ukrainian shipping and agriculture executive.
Oleksiy Vadaturskyi, 74, was the founder and CEO of Nibulon, a leading Ukrainian grain producer. Nibulon is the only vertically-integrated ag producer in Ukraine to own its own shipping fleet. The firm invested heavily in river shipping capacity and port infrastructure, and had plans for a new deepwater port southwest of Kherson (now under Russian occupation).
Under Vadaturskyi, the company expanded with the acquistion of the Lyman Shipbuilding Plant in Mykolaiv in 2012; renamed the Nibulon Shipyard, it went on to build multiple vessels for its parent company and for external customers.
The Mykolaiv region remains under Ukrainian control, despite concerted Russian attacks in the early weeks of the invasion, but it is within range of Russian artillery. According to Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Senkevich, a heavy barrage of Russian fire struck the city in the early hours of Sunday morning. Multiple civilian buildings were struck, including Vadaturskyi’s mansion. The executive and his wife were both killed in the explosion.
Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak accused Russian forces of carrying out a “well-thought-out and organized premeditated murder.” Podolyak asserted that the strike on Vadaturskyi’s residence as not an accident
Ukraine strikes Sevastopol
Separately, on Sunday a drone strike hit the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, according to Russian-backed regional governor Mikhail Razvozhayev. The improvised drone system injured six employees of the fleet and cast a pall over a planned celebration for Russia’s Navy Day; organized Russian Navy festivities in Sevastopol have been canceled as a precautionary measure.
Russian politician Olga Kovitidi told state-owned RIA Novosti that the strike originated locally, suggesting a partisan attack. Militarized recreational drones are widely used by Ukrainian forces, and high levels of partisan activity have been reported in neighboring Kherson Oblast.
A citywide search is under way in Sevastopol to find and catch the organizers of the attack, Kovitidi said.
