‘Traitor’ Ukrainian politician who switched to help Putin ‘is blasted to death with a shotgun and his wife fatally stabbed at their home in occupied Kherson’
- Oleksiy Kovalyov, a senior agriculture official in Moscow-appointed administration in Kherson, was killed with a pump action shotgun at his home
- His wife, 38, was stabbed and her throat slit in attack before she died in hospital
- It is the latest in a series of apparent assassinations of Moscow-backed officials
A ‘traitor’ Ukrainian politician who switched sides to back Vladimir Putin when he ordered the invasion of Ukraine is said to have been blasted to death with a shotgun while his wife was fatally stabbed at their home in the occupied Kherson region.
Oleksiy Kovalyov, 33, a senior official in charge of agriculture in the Moscow-appointed military-civil administration in Kherson, was killed with a pump action shotgun at his residence in the city of Hola Prystan on Sunday.
His wife, 38, was also stabbed and her throat slit in the attack before she died in hospital, local media report.
Russian officials said they would probe the attack, the latest in a series of apparent assassinations of Moscow-backed officials in occupied areas.
Oleksiy Kovalyov, 33, (centre) a senior official in charge of agriculture in the Moscow-appointed military-civil administration in Kherson, was killed with a pump action shotgun at his residence in the city of Hola Prystan on Sunday
Russian officials said they would probe the attack, the latest in a series of apparent assassinations of Moscow-backed officials in occupied areas. Pictured: Kovalyov (left) at a friend’s wedding party
The couple are believed to have been assassinated by a hit squad, local media reports.
After an earlier failed assassination bid, Kovalyov had defiantly told his Ukrainian enemies: ‘You won’t stop me.’
Ukrainian official Serhiy Khlan announced: ‘Former MP and traitor Oleksiy Kovalyov has been killed.’
A Telegram channel run by Ukrainian journalist Andrei Tsaplienko confirmed: ‘The traitor, collaborator and former People’s Deputy Oleksiy Kovalyov was shot dead in his own house.
‘The occupiers have begun intensive searches and document checks. Be careful, Ukrainians.’
Kovalyov (left) is said to have been blasted to death with a shotgun while his wife was fatally stabbed at their home in the occupied Kherson region
The assassination of the official and his partner is the latest killing of a number of Ukrainians who have taken administrative or police positions under the occupying Putin forces.
Russian-installed officials said that a deputy chief of traffic police in the southern Ukrainian city of Berdyansk died in hospital on Friday after being wounded in a bomb blast.
Five other suspected assassinations have been reported in Kherson region, with Ukraine now engaged here in a counteroffensive to regain territory from the Russians.
The mayor of regional capital Kherson city, Vladimir Saldo, was in a coma in a Moscow hospital after suspected poisoning.
Last month Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy removed his spy chief and state prosecutor general, citing dozens of cases of collaboration with Russia by officials in their agencies.
Kovalyov was appointed deputy chairman for agriculture in the key grain region. He had switched sides in April.
After a car bombing, Kovalyov blamed the SBU, the Ukrainian secret service, and said defiantly in a video: ‘I am alive, I am healthy. I am aiming to be back to work’
An earlier attempt on the life of Kovalyov – who before the war was an MP with the ruling Servant of the People party in Kyiv – had failed, prompting a message from his hospital bed in June.
After a car bombing, he blamed the SBU, the Ukrainian secret service, and said defiantly in a video: ‘I am alive, I am healthy. I am aiming to be back to work on Monday.
‘They didn’t scare me and I am aiming to keep working. To be with my people and work on my constituency until my duties expire in 2023.
‘To my enemies and to those who planned this sabotage – you won’t stop me.’
Some reports say the slain politician was found by his mother who called emergency services. Doctors were unable to save his wife.
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