Roman Maksymyuk, who played football for the Ukraine national team before joining the armed forces, made a heartbreaking last call to his wife on January 30, 2025 - 20 months later he has been confirmed dead

Former midfielder of the Ukraine national team Roman Maksymyuk has been killed in the war against Russian occupiers. The soldier’s death was confirmed by DNA analysis previously provided by his daughter Daria.

During his football career, Maksymiuk played for Dynamo Kyiv, Dnipro, Volyn, Chornomorets, Prykarpattia, and other clubs. Between 1998 and 2002, he played five matches for the Ukraine national team. At club level, he played the most games for Dnipro — 85 matches.

He retired from the sport in 2011 and later joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2022 where he served as a gunner with the 25th Sicheslav Airborne Brigade. Maksymyuk, who was 50 when he went missing in action, tried to break out of encirclement in the Pokrovsk direction in Donetsk region.

To see more of the stories you love from The Mirror and to find them easily in Google then make us your preferred source. Free and easy-to-do, just click on the link here to find more from The Mirror at the top of your feed.

Maksymyuk last made contact with his wife Vera . He warned her that he was heading to a position in the Pokrovsk direction and might be out of contact for a long time. Sadly his family and friends never heard from him again.

He had been considered missing under special circumstances. His relatives and loved ones hoped that he had managed to escape but the soldier’s death was confirmed by DNA analysis previously provided by his daughter Daria.

On June 7, 2025, the Ukraine national team took to a friendly match against Canada wearing the jersey and military jacket of the former Volyn player as a sign of remembrance for him.