Matvei Uharau, a former special forces serviceman and a 21-year-old hockey player from Homyel, was killed in Ukraine on February 4. He was fighting on Russia’s side.
The death of a fighter named Matvei with the call sign “Pups” was reported by the channel of the Russian reconnaissance battalion “raZVedOsy.” According to the channel, on February 4 the reconnaissance group in which Matvei was serving “was carrying out a mission to identify shelters and clear enemy dugouts” and came under attack by FPV strike drones. The Belarusian was escorting the evacuation of the wounded, came under a second strike, and was killed. He was posthumously nominated for the Order of Courage.
As established by Flagstok, the deceased was 21-year-old Homyel resident Matvei Uharau, a goaltender for the Slavyane hockey team, which competes in Homyel’s amateur league. The team reported the “tragic death” of its player on social media.
Uharau lived in Homyel. He served as a referee at children’s hockey matches. Recently, he had been seen at the Homyel Ice Palace wearing a military jacket with a sewn-on patch, a source told the outlet.
Uharau was interested in airsoft and in 2025 took part in the militarized “Battle of Cities” event in Babruysk. According to Cyber Partisans, Uharau served in Minsk special forces unit No. 3214 in 2023–2024.
Uharau is survived by his mother, a younger sister, and a brother. In comments under posts about his death, Uharau’s sister and grandmother called for revenge for his killing. His sister wrote that Uharau died on the day of her 17th birthday.
