‘Mykolaiv is turning into the second Mariupol’
The Ukraine city has come under heavy Russian fire, killing one of the country’s biggest grain traders
W‘Boots on the ground work for the Russians ... I suspect everybody ... we are searching for the bad ones’
itnesses saw torches lighting up the home of Ukraine’s biggest grain trader hours before he was killed by a Russian missile, in what may have been a targeted strike called in by Russian spies.
Oleksiy Vadatursky, 74, the founder and owner of the agriculture company Nibulon, and his wife Raisa were killed when a missile hit their house in the southern city of Mykolaiv in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Mr Vadatursky, one of the largest farmers in the country, was killed as Ukraine prepared to resume grain exports following a UN and Turkish-brokered deal to ease a Russian maritime blockade, prompting allegations the Kremlin was trying to sabotage the agreement.
“Vadatursky was one of the largest farmers in the country, a key person in the region and a large employer,” said Myhailo Podolyak, an advisor to President Volodymyr Zelensky. “The accurate missile didn’t just hit the house, but a specific wing – the bedroom – which leaves no doubts about the guidance of the strike.”
The claim gained backing from a group of foreign volunteers based in a neighbouring compound who also came under attack.
Daniel Burke, a former British paratrooper who leads the Dark Angels, told The Telegraph the group noticed torches being flashed at both compounds before the missiles hit.
Asked if he was sure the torches were shone by Russian spies he said: “One hundred per cent. Drones see an aerial view. Boots on the ground work for the Russians. [They] go to POIS – a ‘point of interest’. When they see activity from a certain POI they light the place up. The Russian UAV sees and relays to the strike unit. They designate the shot. Last night was our turn.” Fears about Russian saboteurs have surged in recent weeks. Mr Zelensky last month fired the head of the SBU, Ukraine’s security service, over allegations it had been infiltrated.
Vitaly Kim, the governor of Mykolaiv region, said in a recent interview with The Telegraph that he was intending to shut down the city to flush out Russian spies providing targeting information.
He said: “I suspect everybody. But we have only a few of them in our city. Even one of them can give many points to the Russians so we are searching for the bad ones.”
Ukraine is one of the world’s leading grain producers. It has accused Russia of blockading its exports in a bid to throttle its economy and pile pressure on the West by creating a global food crisis. Turkey and the United Nations brokered a deal that was signed separately by Ukraine and Russia to allow the safe passage of grain last month. Russia struck the port of Odesa shortly after the deal was reached.
A spokesman for President Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday that the first grain-exporting ship could leave Ukrainian ports today.
Mr Zelensky said the country’s harvest could be half its usual amount this year due to the Russian invasion.
Oleksandr Sienkevych, the mayor of Mykolaiv, described attacks that took place over the weekend as “probably the most powerful” that the city had endured in the entire five months since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began.
Hanna Zamazieieva, the head of the Mykolaiv Regional Council, said: “My city, the hero city of Mykolaiv, is becoming a second Mariupol. [...] About 40 rockets were fired at Mykolaiv tonight. This is one of the largest attacks against the city since the beginning of the all-out invasion.”
Besides the Vadatursky’s obliterated house, a hotel, a sports complex, a dentist and medical facility, as well as two schools were also destroyed.
Many residential buildings that were not directly hit were damaged by the shockwave and debris of the strikes.
Mr Burke told The Telegraph they had been sleeping when the shelling began to rain down. He explained how the first hit blew the house up behind them, which belonged to Mr Vadatursky. Along with his team they managed to get down to the bottom floor before the second missile struck.
He suffered a severe laceration to his foot and will not be able to fight for weeks. Other members of his team were also injured, however “everyone survived”.
When The Telegraph visited the site of the attacks yesterday morning local residents were busy cleaning up the debris. The roads were covered in shattered glass while inside the building where the Dark Angels had been staying, the floors of hallways were covered in bloodied footprints.
Oleg, 48, who worked at the complex in security, was helping to sweep up the shards of glass.
Every single window in the building had been blown through, carpeting the ground outside. Observing the 8ft-deep crater outside the building that had swallowed up what had once been a garden, he shrugged his shoulders in despair.
At a Sunday service in the nearby St Nicholas Cathedral Church locals attended, appearing to be praying with determination. Throughout the service they sang in unison, bowed their heads in prayer and only paused when an explosion was heard.
The citizens of Mykolaiv, a strategic city that guards the Russians’ potential route to Odesa, have suffered constant bombardment since the war began.
Russia initially tried and failed to seize the city and its bridges over the Southern Bug river in February. They were defeated and pushed back.
Military officials say Russians have stepped up its bombardment over the past few weeks, apparently in response to a Ukrainian counter offensive to retake Kherson, 35 miles to the southeast.
Up to 50 Grad rockets also hit residential areas in southern city Nikopol yesterday, wounding one.
Kyiv officials ordered a mandatory evacuation of civilians from the Ukrainian-held part of Donetsk region yesterday, saying there would be no heating or energy supplies to support the population during winter months.
About 200,000 people will have to be moved, officials said.
Russia is attempting to advance in Donetsk, which it claims it wants to “liberate”.