Hero of Ukraine Yurii Shukhevych dies

Yurii Shukhevych, a dissident and a member of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group, has died at the age of 89.

Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said this on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.

"Yurii Shukhevych – a Hero of Ukraine, dissident, member of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group - passed away at the age of 89. Eternal memory to a great Ukrainian," he wrote.

Yurii-Bohdan Shukhevych, a son of OUN-UPA commander Roman Shukhevych, was born on March 28, 1933 in the village of Ohliadiv in the Lviv region. He is a Ukrainian political activist, member of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group, dissident, MP, political prisoner in 1948–1956, 1956–1968, 1972–1988. He spent 28 years in Soviet prisons and camps.

In 1990-1994, Shukhevych became the organizer and chairman of UNA-UNSO, a Ukrainian nationalist organization.

In August 2006, President Viktor Yushchenko awarded Shukhevych the Hero of Ukraine title.