A Russian commander of an occupied city in Ukraine was seriously injured on Tuesday by a car bomb. Burning fragments of the car belonged to the military commander of Berdin Artem Igorevich, appointed by Moscow to oversee the city, he was rushed to the hospital in serious condition
A car bomb blast seriously wounded the Russian commander of an occupied city in Ukraine on Tuesday, the latest assassination attempt against a pro-Moscow official, after several senior officials who collaborated with Russia were similarly killed.
Footage from the city of Bardyansk showed burning wreckage of a car said to belong to Bardin Artem Igorevich, the military commander appointed by Moscow to oversee the Russian city and the surrounding area.
The explosion shook a street in the center of the city, close to the city hall. According to the reports, Igorevich was taken to the hospital and his condition is described as serious. A shootout followed the blast, which came as Kyiv says the death toll in Moscow’s war has now passed 50,000, and as Ukrainian forces made their first gains in an offensive against Putin’s forces in the east.
Berdin is the last official appointed by Russian forces in Moscow-controlled areas of Ukraine to be injured or killed in the attacks. Before him there were several other senior pro-Russia officials who were eliminated under mysterious circumstances. Kyiv has not officially claimed responsibility for these attacks, but the West believes they are being carried out by pro-Ukrainian activists in occupied territories.
The target reportedly was Bardin Artem Igorevich – The military commandant of Berdyansk and the Berdyansk region appointed by the Russians pic.twitter.com/QwCUMwSCgl
— Special Kherson Cat ???????????? (@bayraktar_1love) September 6, 2022
Vladimir Rogov, a member of the Russian administration of the occupied Zaporizhia region, called the incident a terrorist attack on his Telegram channel. He wrote that three other civilian cars were damaged in the explosion. “As a result of the explosion, the city commander was hospitalized in serious condition. The doctors are providing him with the necessary medical treatment,” Rogov wrote. “Three civilian cars were also damaged by the explosion, which just happened to be empty.” added
In a conversation with the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, Rogov said: “Terrorists of the Zelensky regime are behind the terrorist attack and the attempt to eliminate the Berdiansk commander.” According to him, an investigation has been opened. Recent deaths of pro-Russian officials are seen as evidence that pro-Ukrainian partisans are operating in Russian-controlled territory, and could delay plans to turn eastern Ukraine into Russian territory. Last month, a pro-Russian police chief was found in a dependent area.
Commander Andrey Ryzhkov was from the border guard in Ukraine before switching sides, he was appointed police chief by the Kremlin occupation forces. Senior Ukrainian Sergei Barchuk said that Ryzhkov “was found hanging”. The exact circumstances of how he was hanged are unknown but are under investigation by the Russian occupation forces.