(Reuters) - President Volodymyr&nbsp;Zelenskiy&nbsp;bestowed posthumously the honour of "Hero of&nbsp;Ukraine" on Sunday on a&nbsp;soldier&nbsp;who defiantly said "Glory to&nbsp;Ukraine" before being seen to be&nbsp;shot&nbsp;dead in a video posted on social media.
Ukraine's military, on its Telegram channel, had earlier confirmed the identity of the&nbsp;soldier&nbsp;as Oleksandr Matsievskiy, a sniper with a unit from the northern region of Chernihiv.
"Today, I have bestowed the title of Hero of&nbsp;Ukraine&nbsp;on&nbsp;soldier&nbsp;Oleskandr Matsievskiy,"&nbsp;Zelenskiy&nbsp;said in his nightly video address.
"A man that all Ukrainians will know. A man who will be forever remembered. For his bravery, for his confidence in&nbsp;Ukraine&nbsp;and for his&nbsp;'Glory&nbsp;to&nbsp;Ukraine'."
The apparently unarmed man in a uniform with a Ukrainian flag insignia on his arm was shown in a video smoking a cigarette and&nbsp;saying&nbsp;"Slava Ukraini" - or "Glory to&nbsp;Ukraine" - before apparently being&nbsp;shot&nbsp;dead. A voice off camera then says, in Russian, "Die, bitch."
Germany's Bild newspaper said its reporter spoke to Matsievekiy's mother, Paraska, who was quoted as&nbsp;saying: "He stood there unarmed, but proud to be Ukrainian. He was always incredibly brave. At this moment, the only weapon he could defend himself with was to say: 'Slava Ukraini!'"
The term "Glory to&nbsp;Ukraine" is more than a century old but came into general use&nbsp;after&nbsp;Ukraine&nbsp;won independence from Soviet rule.
It has been in widespread use as a greeting during the war, always drawing the response "Heroyam Slava" ("Glory to the Heroes").
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(Reporting by Ron Popeski and Nick Starkov; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

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Zelenskiy honors Ukraine soldier shot after saying 'Glory to Ukraine'