Ukrainian Activist Demyan Hanul Shot Dead in Center of Odesa

On March 14, at around 10:30 in the morning, in one of most popular boulevards in the city center of Odesa, passerby attended the public killing of the Ukrainian activist Demyan Hanul.

The cameras captured the scene of a murder, where a killer fired the final blow to the head of Hanul, who was already lying on the ground.

The shooter fled the scene of the crime walking calmly. The police have the facial features and height of the perpetrator and a citywide manhunt is currently underway.

“All circumstances of the incident are currently being established by the investigative and operational group of the territorial police unit and criminalists,” local police officials reported.

The information about the murder reached Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, during the government’s question and answer hour. Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said that he was taking personal control of the investigation.

He announced, at the central office of the National Police of Ukraine, that an investigative team consisting of Ukraine’s best officers and forensic experts, led by the Head of the National Police Ivan Vyhivskyi, had already left Kyiv for Odesa, together with a National Police regiment.

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Demyan Hanul, a well-known activist from Odesa who championed Ukraine’s cause and led numerous military fundraising efforts, was shot dead.

“I am taking personal control of the investigation and disclosure of this crime. Police officers and investigators are working to identify the shooter and detain him,” Klymenko said.

He also shared the first information about the murder that was gathered, but denied the initial report that the shooter was wearing a military uniform.

The 31-year-old Hanul was a well-known and controversial figure in the port city.

A volunteer, blogger, nationalist activist. He was a participant in the Revolution of Dignity, founder of right-wing radical organization NGO “Street Front,” and the former head of the Pravo Sector’s section in Odesa. He fiercely advocated for the dismantling of Soviet and imperial monuments in the city. Among his activities there were aggressive flash mobs against restaurants and shops where employees were heard speaking Russian with customers.

In the summer of 2024, a Moscow court arrested Hanul in absentia on several charges. The Russians also leaked some information about his family and ads were published on various information networks calling for an attack on Hanul, promising a reward of $5,000 to $10,000.

On July 22, 2024, he publicly stated: “After the recent actions to protect the honor of the military of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, I have been receiving many threats. Yesterday Russian channels leaked personal information about my relatives to the network. A whole psychological attack on my family has begun.”

Due to these threats, Hanul contacted the police. He asked the state for protection.

“Considering all the risks, today I sent relevant statements to the head of the SBU in the Odesa region, Viktor Dorovsky, and the head of the Main Police Department in the Odesa region, Ivan Zhuk. I ask you to immediately consider them and apply appropriate procedural measures.”

Hanul got into some scandals because of several car accidents, where he was accused of violation of traffic rules. In addition, in the spring, law enforcement officers found 30 rounds of ammunition, an RGD-5 grenade, three fragmentation grenade launcher ammunition, and body armor in a Cadillac Escalade, which he was driving.

In July 2020, unknown people fired on the car in which Hanul was driving on the highway. In early May 2023, unknown persons beat him in Odesa, and the police opened a criminal case.