The head of a notorious prison in Russian-occupied Ukraine is believed to have been killed in a car explosion in Donetsk, the latest in a series of attacks on pro-Election figures Kremlin in occupied lands.
Ukrainian media reported that Sergei Yevsyukov, 49, was killed in a blast from an explosive device planted under his car, with one agency reporting that the explosive was equivalent to about 100g of TNT.
Yevsyukov was director of Olenivka Prison when dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war were captured died in a missile attack in July 2022.
Russia blamed Ukraine for that attack, but Ukraine said Russia 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 near the city center.
They did not confirm their identities but said two local residents were injured.
Ukrainian bloggers reported that Yevsyukov’s wife was also injured in the attack, lost a leg and is in hospital in critical condition.
“[We] is conducting a detailed examination of the incident scene and a series of investigative and operational measures,” the Russian Investigative Committee said.
Footage recorded at the scene shows a burned-out white SUV parked on the main street in Donestsk.
Yevsyukov’s murder is considered the latest in a string of targeted attacks by Ukraine targeting Russian officers, Russian-appointed military officials and pro-Kremlin public figures on the territory Occupied Ukraine and in Russia.
In November, senior naval officer Valery Trankovsky, who Ukraine accused of war crimes, was killed in Crimea. His assassination was orchestrated by Ukrainian intelligence, AFP news agency reported last month, citing a source in Ukraine’s security service.
In October, Ukraine claimed responsibility for a car bomb that killed an official at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
And in April, a car bomb in Russian-controlled territory in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine killed a government official appointed by Moscow.
The city of Donetsk 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 since then.
The area has consistently seen some of the fiercest fighting for nearly three years.
