Oleg Tsaryov was supposed to take over from Zelenskyi – was shot down

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Oleg Tsaryov was supposed to take over from Zelenskyi
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Oleg Tsaryov, 53, was chosen to lead a puppet government when Russia captured Kiev.

Now Ukraine is reported to have had its revenge.

A special force gunned down the politician at a spa hotel in Crimea.

Quick version

  • Ukrainian special forces have reportedly shot dead pro-Russian businessman and former politician Oleg Tsaryov, 53, at a spa hotel in Crimea.
  • Tsaryov is said to have been handpicked by Putin to lead a puppet government in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev – if Russia’s first offensive had been successful.
  • The killing is part of Ukraine’s “elimination of the country’s enemies” and marks an escalation in the conflict.

    • ⓘ The summary is made with the support of AI tools from OpenAI and quality assured by Aftonbladet. Read our AI policy here.

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    According to Ukrainian intelligence services, Tsaryov has long been on a list of wanted traitors, writes The New York Times.

    Ukraine’s head of intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, has previously said that one should continue to “eliminate the country’s enemies”.

    – We have done it and we will do it.

    full screenOleg Tsaryov, 53, was shot by Ukrainian security services this week. Photo: Igor Golovnov/Alamy

    Would replace Zelenskyi

    According to information in both Ukraine and Russia, the 53-year-old has now been checked off that list.

    The pro-Russian businessman and former politician was shot and seriously wounded in a “special operation” this week carried out by Ukrainian security services.

    This is stated by sources within the Ukrainian security service for The New York Times.

    The newspaper writes that Oleg Tsaryov was chosen to lead a puppet government in Kiev if Russia succeeded in its first offensive against the capital, where it would depose President Volodymyr Zelensky and the rest of the government.

    Vladimir Rogov, at the Russian occupation regime in southern Ukraine, was shot twice in an execution attempt. He is said to have lost a lot of blood and is being treated for “very serious injuries”.

    full screen The holiday resort of Yalta on the Crimean Peninsula. Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP

    Operation at a spa hotel

    According to the politician’s family, the attack took place at midnight on Friday at a spa hotel in the seaside resort of Yalta on the Black Sea coast of the occupied Crimea peninsula where he currently lives.

    According to the Ukrainian security service, Tsaryov was not only a person with pro-Russian views, writes The New York Times.

    He is said to have traveled with Russian troops during the first attempt to take Kiev and, according to plans, then take over the government.

    Oleg Tsaryov was a member of the Ukrainian parliament between 2002 and 2014. Then he quit to wholeheartedly support the separatist movement in eastern Ukraine.

    While Ukraine’s counter-offensive continues, attacks are taking place behind Russian lines by Ukrainian partisans and special forces, writes The New York Times.

    full screen Plumes of smoke are visible over the popular holiday beach at Saky after explosions at the Russian military air base in August last year. Photo: AP

    Died in a car bomb

    According to both sides, a car was blown up in the occupied city of Berdiansk in southeastern Ukraine earlier this week.

    Pro-Russian representatives of local authorities claim that a Russian soldier was killed by the car bomb.

    The Security Service of Ukraine, for its part, states that four members of the Russian Federal Security Service FSB were in the car.

    At least one of those killed “was a Russian war criminal who committed brutal torture against local civilians,” according to the Ukrainian security service.

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