Moment mother comes face to face with lifelike statue of her hero son who declared ‘glory to Ukraine’ as he was executed by Russian captors

• Realistic statue of Ukrainian hero Oleksandr Matsievskiy has gone on display
• He was murdered by Russian captors in March and given posthumous medal

A photograph has captured the moment a grieving mother came face to face with a lifelike statue of her hero son who declared ‘glory to Ukraine’ as he was executed by his Russian captors. 

Oleksandr Matsievskiy, 42, was murdered by Putin’s soldiers near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine in March this year, with footage of the horrific act going viral on social media.

The Ukrainian soldier was posthumously awarded a medal for bravery, with president Volodymyr Zelensky saying he was a symbol showing his nation’s resistance against the Russian invasion.

Mr Matsievskiy was sniper and a member of the 119th brigade of Ukraine’s Territorial Defence Force.

Paraska Matsiievska-Demchuk stands by the statue depicting her son, Ukrainian serviceman Oleksandr Matsievskiy whom Russian invaders executed after saying ‘Slava Ukraini’

Mr Matsievskiy was sniper and a member of the 119th brigade of Ukraine’s Territorial Defence Force.

The monument (right) created by sculptor Oleh Tsos shows Mr Matsievskiy in his last moments, standing defiantly before he was murdered by his captors (the moment left)

He was filmed smoking a cigarette while alone in a wooded area in Eastern Ukraine, The Telegraph reports.

Moments before he was shot by Russian soldiers, he exclaimed an ancient Ukrainian war call: ‘Slava Ukraini!’

A realistic statue of the war hero was put on display at Kyiv’s Fortress National Historical and Architectural Museum on Wednesday – which is Armed Forces Day in Ukraine.

The monument created by sculptor Oleh Tsos shows Mr Matsievskiy in his last moments, standing defiantly before he was murdered by his captors.

His mother Paraska Matsiievska-Demchuk, 68, was photographed staring into the lifelike eyes of the statue of her son as she emotionally grabbed onto its protective glass casing.

In another photo she can be seen clasping her hands together as she sees the portrayal of her late son. 

Mr Matsievskiy’s mother Paraska Matsiievska-Demchuk, 68, was photographed staring into the lifelike eyes of the statue of her son as she emotionally grabbed onto its  glass casing

When the design was revealed in late November, Mrs Matsiievska-Demchuk said that her son ‘would have taken all of them with him if he had a grenade’

When the design was revealed in late November, she said that her son ‘would have taken all of them with him if he had a grenade’.

Kyiv has since opened an investigation into war crimes regarding the death of Mr Matsievskiy.

Talking to the nation over video in March, the Ukrainian president said: ‘I conferred the title of Hero of Ukraine upon Oleksandr Matsievskiy.

‘A man whom all Ukrainians will know. A man who will be remembered forever. For his bravery, for his confidence in Ukraine and for his “Glory to Ukraine!” ‘

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