Russian official killed by ‘car bomb assassins’ in Ukraine, here’s what we know

Pro-Russian officials in the invaded territory of the Kherson region in Ukraine announced on Thursday 22 December that town leader Andrei Nikolayevich Shtepa was assassinated. They wrote on Telegram:

Today Andrei Nikolayevich Shtepa, a sincere patriot of his native land, died tragically as a result of a car explosion set up by Ukrainian terrorists.

'Car-bomb assassins'

Andrei Nikolayevich Shtepa was a Russian-appointedtown leader in the village of Lyubimivka where he also perished, EuroWeeklyNews reports.

According to Moscow-installed authorities, Shtepa was targeted by car-bomb assassins. He burned alive while his car was spotted releasing thick black smoke.

Russian news agency TASS claimed a source from the local emergency services in the Kakhovka region said:

He died, explosives were planted in the car. Today Ukrainian terrorists attempted to attack the head of the village of Lyubimovka of the Kakhovsky municipal district, as a result of which he died.

Shtepa was of Russian origin but had been living as a resident of the village for 15 years where he worked on a communal farm. Before the Ukraine war, he had run for the town leadership but was not elected. He was appointed to the pro-Russian leadership position on June 18.

As per Daily Mail, Ukrainian news website Censor.net labelled Shtepa a 'traitor' for allegedly participating in the Russian occupation of the village. Italso wrote that his death was confirmed by the Strategic Communications Center of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Mounting Russian death toll

Daily Mail reports that this week Russian casualties in Ukraine have now surpassed 100,000.

Car bomb assassinations similar to this have allegedly become a regular mode of operation of local Ukrainian resistance forceswhich are regularly targeting Russian collaborators.

On Thursday, a close Putin ally experienced a close call when he was hit by shrapnel from the shelling in Donetsk, Ukraine.

Dmitry Rogozin, the former head of Russia’s space agency took to his Telegram channel to describe how his back was hurt and that he will need surgery. According to the Daily Mail, some reports online suggest Rogozinwas struck by shrapnel in his buttocks.

Sources used:

-Daily Mail: 'Car bomb assassins kill Russian-appointed town leader in occupied territory - as Ukrainian strike on head of Putin's space agency leaves him with shrapnel in his rear'

-EuroWeeklyNews: 'BREAKING: Pro-Russian head of Lyubimovka in Ukraine’s Kherson region reportedly assassinated