Demyan Vadymovych Hanul (; 6 October 1993 – 14 March 2025) was a Ukrainian activist and public figure best known for his blogging and leadership of the Street Front

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

. Hanul was assassinated in

Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

on 14 March 2025.

Background

Demyan Hanul was born on 6 October 1993. He participated in the

Revolution of Dignity The Revolution of Dignity (), also known as the Maidan Revolution or the Ukrainian Revolution, took place in Ukraine in February 2014 at the end of the Euromaidan protests, when deadly clashes between protesters and state forces in the capit ...

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, as well as the Odesa clashes against Russian separatists. Hanul operated a blog, as well as an NGO named Street Front, which he used to support rallies, as well as fund-raise for the Ukrainian armed forces. Hanul was the leader of

Right Sector Right Sector () is a loosely defined coalition of right-wing to far-right Ukrainian nationalist organizations. It originated in November 2013 as a right-wing, paramilitary confederation of several ultranationalist organizations at the Euroma ...

's Odesa cell from 2014 to 2016. After leaving Right Sector Hanul worked as a history teacher. He had campaigned hard for the deconstruction of Soviet and Imperial Russian monuments across Ukraine. Hanul and his organization also rallied

flash mob A flash mob (or flashmob) is a group of people that assembles suddenly in a public place, performs for a brief time, then quickly disperses, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, and/or artistic expression. Flash mobs may be organize ...

s targeting restaurants in Odesa whose employees spoke Russian. After the outbreak of the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

in 2022 Hanul volunteered for the Ukrainian army. Hanul had an extensive rap-sheet of traffic accidents and traffic violations. In one case the police found 30 rounds of ammunition, a RGD-5 grenade, three grenades for a grenade launcher, and body armour in his car. In 2020 Hanul survived a

drive-by shooting A drive-by shooting is a type of assault that usually involves the perpetrator(s) firing a weapon from within a motor vehicle and then fleeing. Drive-by shootings allow the perpetrators to quickly strike their targets and flee the scene before l ...

. In May 2023, Hanul would be subjected to an attack, being beaten in the streets of Odesa. In July 2024, Hanul reported that Russian hackers had released personal information about him, and his family, and placed a $10,000 bounty on his head. Hanul's father also participated in the Revolution of Dignity, and also served in the

28th Mechanized Brigade The 28th Mechanized Brigade () is a mechanized brigade and part of the formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces. History The original 28th Guards Rifle Division was formed during the Second World War from the 180th Rifle Division in May 1942 ...

during the Battle of Kyiv.

Assassination

On 14 March 2025, the

National Police of Ukraine The National Police of Ukraine (, ; /NPU ), often simply referred to as the (), is the national, and only, police service of Ukraine. It was formed on 3 July 2015, as part of the post-Euromaidan reforms launched by Ukrainian president Petro Por ...

announced that Hanul had been shot twice in the head by a short-barrel firearm in central Odesa on 13 March. Police believe that the shooter was acting under a

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

. Questions about the killing arose during the

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameralism, unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 Deputy (legislator), deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovn ...

question hour. The case has been personally taken over by

Ihor Klymenko Ihor Volodymyrovych Klymenko (, ; born 25 October 1972) is a Ukrainian police general serving as the minister of internal affairs since 7 February 2023 (acting since 18 January). He succeeded Denys Monastyrsky following his death in a helicop ...

, Ukraine's Internal Minister. Klymenko stated that there were "specific leads" the police were following. The killing, and a clear image of the suspect, were caught on CCTV near the scene of the crime.

Pro-Russian Russophilia is the identification or solidarity with, appreciation of, or support for the Russia, country, Russians, people, Russian language, language, and history of Russia. One who espouses Russophilia is called a russophile. Its Opposite ...

media outlet '' Tipichanya Odesa'' had reported that his shooter was in "military uniform" but this was denied by the National Police. Another outlet, '' Dumska'' had reported that the killer surrendered himself to police custody, which the police have also denied. At 2:12 PM UTC on 14 March a man matching the description and image of Hanul's shooter was arrested at his apartment, with a hidden weapon matching that used in the shooting found. The shooter was a 46-year-old local resident, a Ukrainian soldier who had deserted his unit on 23 February.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanul, Demyan 1993 births 2025 deaths People from Kirovohrad Oblast Ukrainian anti-communists People murdered in Ukraine Deaths by firearm in Ukraine Civilians killed in the Russian invasion of Ukraine Assassinated Ukrainian people Politicians assassinated in 2025