He survived a car bomb attack and now Oleksiy Kovalev is dead. The Ukrainian politician who defected to Russia was probably murdered.
Cherson – Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Kovalyov is dead. The MP was shot dead in his apartment at the age of 33. This was announced by the Russian criminal investigation authorities on Telegram. Kovalyov has recently shown himself to be very close to the Kremlin.
Ukraine War: Politicians from Zelenskyj party cooperated with Russia
Kovalyov comes from Cherson in southern Ukraine. In 2019 he entered parliament with a direct mandate. He belongs to the governing party of President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, the Sluha narodu (servant of the people) – but was recently expelled from the party and faction.
In the course of the Ukraine war, Kyiv reported suspicions of cooperation with Moscow. The public prosecutor investigated Kovalev for high treason. In the occupation authority of the Cherson region, he served as deputy regional chief and minister of agriculture. The Ukrainian government accuses him of cooperating with the Russian troops that have marched into Cherson.
Politician Kovalyov dead: in June he survived a bomb attack
It is unclear who is responsible for Kovalyov’s death. In the past few weeks, however, several Ukrainians who put themselves in the service of the Russian occupation have been attacked. Kherson is almost entirely under Russian control. Kovalyov’s murder is not the first attack on politicians in the occupied territories. In the Zaporizhia region, the pro-Russian regional administrator Ivan Sushko was killed by a car bomb, as the district newspaper reported.
Kovalyov survived a bomb attack in June that the Ukrainian secret service was probably responsible for. “I’m alive and well and planning to go back to work,” he said in an interview with Russia’s state agency Ria Novosti at the time.
Several Ukrainian representatives also reported on the attack and the death of the deputy. Kovalev’s girlfriend also died. She died in hospital as a result of a knife wound. (as)
#Defector #Zelenskyj #party #murdered #survived #bomb #attack