A Ukrainian politician working with the Russian occupation government was found murdered in his home over the weekend.
Oleksiy Kovalev, former member of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s political party, was found dead at his home near Kherson on Sunday with a gunshot wound to the head, the Kyiv Post reported on Monday.
His wife was also reportedly stabbed in the neck and the Initial reports indicated that he succumbed to his injuries. Kovalev was found next to a shotgun registered to his name.
Kovalev had served in the Russian occupation government in Kherson as deputy head of the occupation government since July.
Ukrainska Pravda reported in June that Kovalev had attended a meeting between farmers in the area and Russian officials.
The newspaper reported that Kovalev supported Russian efforts to annex Kherson province. “People left with the understanding that Russia listens to us and understands us,” he said of the June meeting, according to Ukrainska Pravda.
“In addition to agrarian issues, the state of from the Kherson region; I repeat, Russia is forever and the closest possible integration with Russia is already underway,” he said.
The meeting led to reports that Kovalev, who has already had been expelled from Zelensky’s Servant of the People party in May, was being investigated on charges of treason.
Kovalev narrowly escaped an attempt on his life later that month, when Ukrainian military intelligence said he blew up the former official’s car.
“I can confirm that a certain measure was taken,” said Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukrainian military intelligence, in a televised interview at the time. “The car definitely blew up.”
After Kovalev’s body was discovered on Sunday, a Ukrainian journalist working in the region said that the occupation government was cracking down on Ukrainians in Kherson.
“After the liquidation of Kherson collaborator Oleksiy Kovalev in the city of Gola Prystan, where the traitor was shot yesterday, the occupants began intensive searches and document checks,” said Andrei Tsaplienko on Telegram. “Be careful, Ukrainians”.
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