Olga Petrivna Sukhenko (; 19 October 1971 – 24 March 2022), also known as Olha Sukhenko, was a Ukrainian politician who served as

village head A village head, village headman or village chief is the community leader of a village or a small town. Usage Brunei In Brunei, village head is called or in the Malay language. It is an administrative post which leads the community of a ...

of Motyzhyn,

Kyiv Region Kyiv Oblast (, ), also called Kyivshchyna (, ), is an oblast (province) in central and northern Ukraine. It surrounds, but does not include, the city of Kyiv, which is administered as a city with special status. However, Kyiv also serves as the ...

, and was killed by Russian soldiers during the

Bucha massacre The Bucha massacre (; ) was the mass murder of Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war by the Russian Armed Forces during the fight for and occupation of the city of Bucha as part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photographic and video ...

Early life and education

Olga Petrivna Sukhenko was born on 19 October 1971 and attended Kyiv secondary school #127 before studying merchandising at Kyiv Commercial College from 1992 to 1994. After that she studied at the Kyiv State Academy of Water Transport where, after three years, she received an accounting qualification. Sukhenko's career included working as a baker, sales, and working in Motyzhin's kindergarten.

Political career

Sukhenko served as

for over a decade in Motyzhyn, a village with a population of about 1000 people, located about 25 miles west of

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, ...

. Her role included informal dispute resolution, building improvements, and organizing cultural events. In 2002, she was elected as the secretary of the village council before becoming the chair in 2006. In 2017, as mayor, she visited World War II veteran Fyodor Klimenko of Motyzhin at a nursing home in Gruzskoe and congratulated his efforts towards victory over Nazis. On 27 February 2022, Sukhenko posted to Facebook after the arrival of the Russian army, ''"There are foreign bastards in our village. Take care. Don't leave your homes. Keep calm."'' After the

2022 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 ...

began, thousands of people had fled to the village from Kyiv, and in early March, she organised a civilian evacuation convoy. During the occupation by the Russian army, she also arranged for the delivery and distribution of food and medication. Igor Sukhenko, her husband, and others also provided information to the Ukrainian army about Russian army locations and movements.

Assassination

Abduction and murder

According to Ukrainian officials and local residents, on 23 March, Sukhenko, her husband, Igor, and their son

Oleksandr Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are A ...

(a professional footballer who had played for

SC Chaika Petropavlivska Borshchahivka SC Chaika Petropavlivska Borshchahivka is a Ukrainian football club based in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka, Bucha Raion, just outside Kyiv. The club plays in Ukrainian Second League since 2018. Chaika plays its home matches at the Kozak-Arena. The ...

) were abducted by Russian soldiers, tortured, then executed by shooting, and buried in a shallow pit in a forest. Sukhenko and her husband were taken earlier in the day and then Oleksandr was taken in the evening.

Body discovery

Their bodies were found by Ukrainian soldiers after the Russian army occupation of the village ended, along with two other bodies in the same area. According to ''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

'', ''"It is believed that she and her family were killed on suspicion of helping Ukrainian soldiers."'' Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister

Iryna Vereshchuk Iryna Andriivna Vereshchuk (, ; born 30 November 1979) is a Ukrainian social activist, politician, and former People's Deputy of Ukraine of the 9th Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada, 9th convocation. On 4 November 2021, Vereshchuk was appointed Deputy P ...

said Sukhenko is one of twelve municipality leaders who were captured by Russian forces, and the Ukrainian government learned of her death on 2 April 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sukhenko, Olga 1971 births 2022 deaths 2022 murders in Ukraine 21st-century Ukrainian politicians 21st-century Ukrainian women politicians Assassinated mayors Assassinated Ukrainian politicians Deaths by firearm in Ukraine Civilians killed in the Russian invasion of Ukraine Mayors of places in Ukraine Politicians from Kyiv Oblast People murdered in Ukraine Women mayors of places in Ukraine Political violence in Ukraine Politicians assassinated in 2022