Oleksii Zhuravko

Oleksiy Valeriyovych Zhuravko (, ; 21 April 1974 – 25 September 2022) was a Ukrainian and Russian politician who was a member of Ukraine's national parliament Verkhovna Rada from 2006 to 2012. He was a member of the pro-Russian Party of Regions from 2006. He died in September 2022 in a missile attack in Kherson during the Ukrainian southern counteroffensive.

Early life and education Born on 21 April 1974 in Zhovti Vody, Zhuravko lived in an orphanage from 1974 to 1978. In 1978, he moved to a boarding school in Tsiurupynsk where he lived until 1990. On 17 April 2013, Zhuravko was appointed Government Commissioner for the Rights of the Disabled. In October 2015, Zhuravko was reportedly "hiding from Ukrainian authorities" and openly supporting separatism. In December 2015, Zhuravko's title of honorary citizen of Tsiurupynsk was removed. In January 2018, a pre-trial investigation was started into his alleged financing of the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic quasi-states proclaimed within the territory of Ukraine.

Zhuravko acquired Russian citizenship and joined the United Russia party in July 2022. On 22 September 2022, Zhuravko published a video in which he cast his vote in Kherson at the 2022 annexation referendums.