RFE/RLMon, 29 Aug 2022 00:00 UTC
© Twitter/@Flash43191300Oleksiy Kovalyov
Former Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Kovalyov, who joined the Russia-imposed Kherson regional government after Russian armed forces took over parts of Ukraine's southeast, has been found dead.
An adviser to the Kyiv-controlled regional administration, Serhiy Khlan, said on August 29 that Kovalyov was found dead a day earlier in his house in the town of Hola Prystan.
Ukrainian media reports said Kovalyov was found with a gunshot wound to his head and a Mossberg pump firearm that was officially registered to the former member of Ukraine's ruling Servant of the People party. The reports also said Kovalyov's girlfriend sustained a stabbing wound and was hospitalized.Russia-imposed authorities did not comment on the reports, but pro-Russian Telegram channels confirmed them.
Several officials appointed by Moscow to areas of Ukraine have died in recent weeks after being attacked.
Last week, Russia-imposed authorities in parts of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya region said the
Moscow-appointed mayor of the Russia-occupied town of Mykhaylivka,
Ivan Sushko, was killed by a car bomb.On August 6,
Vitaliy Hura, a Russia-appointed deputy mayor of the Ukrainian city of Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region,
was shot dead by an unidentified assailant while leaving his home while
a car bomb in Kherson killed the Russia-appointed head of the directorate for youth policies at the Kherson region's administration,
Dmytro Savluchenko, in late June.
Comment: More from
New York Post:
A Ukrainian politician who was working with the Russian occupation government was found murdered in his home over the weekend. Oleksiy Kovalev, a former member of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's political party, was found dead in his home near Kherson Sunday with a gunshot wound to the head, the Kyiv Post reported Monday.
His wife was also reportedly stabbed in the neck, and initial reports indicated she succumbed to her wounds. Kovalev was found beside a shotgun registered in his name.
Kovalev had served in the Russian occupation government in Kherson as the deputy head of the occupation government since July.
Ukrainska Pravda reported in June that Kovalev had attended a meeting between area farmers and Russian officials. The paper reported that Kovalev was supportive of Russian efforts to annex the Kherson province.
According to Ukrainska Pravda, he said of the June meeting:
"People left with the realization that Russia hears and understands us. In addition to agrarian issues, the status of the Kherson region was also discussed - I will repeat that Russia is forever and the closest possible integration with Russia is already underway."
The meeting led to reports that Kovalev โ who had already been tossed from Zelensky's Servant of the People party in May โ was being investigated on treason charges.
Kovalev narrowly escaped an attempt on his life later that month, when Ukrainian military intelligence said it blew up the former official's car. Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukrainian military intelligence, said in a televised interview at the time.
"I can confirm that a certain action was taken. The car was definitely blown up."
After Kovalev's body was discovered Sunday, a Ukrainian journalist working in the region said the occupation government was cracking down on Ukrainians in Kherson.
Andrei Tsaplienko said on Telegram:
"After the liquidation of the Kherson collaborator Oleksiy Kovalev in the city of Gola Prystan, where the traitor was shot yesterday, the occupiers began intensive searches and document checks. Be careful, Ukrainians."
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