Oleksiy Opanasovych Vadaturskyy (Ukrainian: Олексій Опанасович Вадатурський; 8 September 1947 – 31 July 2022) was a Ukrainian agricultural and grain logistics businessman and the founder of Nibulon, the largest grain logistics company in Ukraine.[1] He was one of the wealthiest Ukrainians.[2][3]
Vadaturskyy was killed with his wife in the early hours of 31 July by Russian missile strikes on the city of Mykolaiv.[10] Seven or eight Russian missiles hit his house in the Zavodsky district, raising strong suspicions that Vadaturskyy was intentionally targeted and assassinated by Russia to affect the crop export industry of Ukraine.[1] Ukraine stated that the missile which killed Vadaturskyy belonged to the S-300 series of missiles.[11]Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, called the missile strike a "premeditated murder [of] one of the most important agricultural entrepreneurs in the country".[12] The attack occurred as the first shipment of grain was getting ready to leave Ukraine on 1 August.[13] The Orthodox funeral service for Vadaturskyy on 12 August in a Kyiv cathedral was attended by several hundred people, including the mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Senkevych.[11]
Vadaturskyy was succeeded by his son Andriy [uk], a politician, co-owner of Nibulon (till August 2022), married with three children.
Vadaturskyy was awarded the Hero of Ukraine in 2007, the country's highest honour, for his role in the development of Ukrainian agricultural industry.[11] Vadaturskyy was known as non-corruptible and pro-European.[7]
In 2008, Nibulon's team, headed by Oleksiy Vadaturskyy, received the State Prize of Ukraine in the Field of Architecture.[15]
Based on the results of the 22nd annual “Person of the Year. Citizen of the Year” city program, Oleksiy Vadaturskyy was acknowledged as a Hero of 2020 for his considerable contribution to public health, fighting the coronavirus pandemic.[16]
