The former head of a notorious prison in Russian-occupied Ukraine has reportedly been killed in a car blast in Donetsk, in what is being seen as the latest in a series of attacks on pro-Kremlin figures in occupied land.
Ukrainian media say that Sergei Yevsyukov, 49, was killed in a blast from an explosive device planted under his car, with one outlet reporting that the explosive was equivalent to about 100g of TNT.
Yevsyukov was chief of the Olenivka Prison when dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war died in a missile strike in July 2022.
Russia blamed Ukraine for that attack but Ukraine said Russia had targeted the prison to destroy evidence of torture and other war crimes committed there.
On Monday, Russian authorities said they had opened a criminal investigation into the incident which took place near the city’s centre.
They did not confirm identities but said two local residents had been injured.
Ukrainian bloggers reported Yevsyukov’s wife had also been injured in the attack, losing a leg, and was in hospital on a critical condition.
“[We] are conducting a detailed examination of the scene of the incident and a set of operational and investigative measures,” the Russian Investigations Committee said.
Footage of the scene shows the burnt-out white SUV parked on a main street in Donestsk.
Yevsyukov’s killing is being seen as the latest in a string of targeted attacks by Ukraine on Russian officers, Russian-installed military officials and pro-Kremlin public figures in occupied Ukrainian territory and in Russia.
In November, a senior naval officer Valery Trankovsky who had been accused of war crimes by Ukraine was killed in Crimea. His assassination was orchestrated by Ukrainian intelligence, AFP news agency reported last month citing a source in Ukraine’s security services.
In October, Ukraine claimed responsibility for a car bomb attack that killed an official at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
And in April, a car bomb in Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region killed a Moscow-appointed government official.
Donetsk city and parts of the wider region in eastern Ukraine were first seized by Russian-backed forces in 2014, and the area has been partially controlled by Moscow ever since.
The region has consistently seen some of the fiercest fighting of the war these past nearly three years.