A powerful explosion on Thursday claimed the life of a former top official in the Russian-occupied eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk, in what local authorities have called a targeted attack.
According to Leonid Pasechnik, the Russian-backed head of the self-declared Lugansk People’s Republic, the blast killed Manolis Pilavov, the former head of the city’s administration. Pilavov had reportedly led Lugansk’s local government for nine years before stepping down.
“Today, as a result of a vile attack in the centre of Lugansk, Manolis Pilavov was killed,” Pasechnik wrote on Telegram, vowing that those responsible would be brought to justice. “I am sure that after a thorough investigation… the guilty will be found and will definitely bear the deserved punishment.”
Local emergency services said three other people were wounded, including one in serious condition.
There has been no official comment from Kyiv, but the incident fits a pattern of targeted assassinations and sabotage within Russian-occupied territories and inside Russia itself since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began more than three years ago. Many of these operations have been linked to or claimed by Ukrainian security services.
Lugansk, which fell under pro-Russian separatist control in 2014, remains a stronghold of Moscow-backed forces in eastern Ukraine. As the war drags into its fourth year, Ukrainian partisans and intelligence networks have increasingly intensified efforts to destabilize Russian-installed administrations in occupied regions.
The explosion underscores the growing insecurity even in areas far from the active front lines, and adds to the mounting toll of politically targeted attacks in the conflict. Russian authorities have opened an investigation into the blast.
Written By Rodney Mbua
