Former Ukraine international Roman Maksymyuk confirmed dead after 20 months missing in action

Former Ukraine international Roman Maksymyuk has been confirmed killed in action after spending 20 months listed as missing, with his death established through DNA analysis previously provided by his daughter Daria. The 50-year-old midfielder had last made contact with his wife Vera before attempting to break out of encirclement in the Pokrovsk direction in the Donetsk region.

Maksymyuk retired from professional football in 2011 after a career that included spells at Dynamo Kyiv, Dnipro, Volyn, Chornomorets, and Prykarpattia, among other clubs. His most productive stint came at Dnipro, where he made 85 appearances. At international level, he represented Ukraine in five matches between 1998 and 2002.

Following Russia’s full-scale invasion, Maksymyuk enlisted with the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2022, serving as a gunner with the 25th Sicheslav Airborne Brigade. His last known communication was a call to his wife on January 30, 2025, in which he warned her he was moving toward a position near Pokrovsk and might be unreachable for some time. His family never heard from him again.

For months, relatives held out hope that he had managed to escape the encirclement. The DNA confirmation ended that uncertainty, bringing a painful conclusion to a search that had lasted nearly two years.

On June 7, 2025, the Ukraine national team paid tribute to Maksymyuk during a friendly match against Canada. Players took to the field wearing his jersey and military jacket as a mark of remembrance — a gesture that underscored the broader toll the conflict has taken on Ukrainian society, including those who once represented the country on the football pitch.