Russia-installed Kherson region authorities claim assassination attempt on Oleshky ‘mayor’

Vladimir Vasilenko, spokesperson for the Russia-appointed “acting governor” of the Kherson region, has announced that the Ukrainian army tried to murder “mayor” of the city of Oleshky Georgy Zhuravko by launching a HIMARS missile, TASS reports.

“The Ukrainian Armed Forces struck the home of Georgy Zhuravko when he was not there. The house is destroyed. Experts found fragments of a HIMARS missile at the site,” Vasilenko said.

Kherson’s MOST outlet also reports, citing local Telegram channels, that an explosion took place at Zhuravko’s plot of land in Oleshky late on 22 July. It is not clear if Zhuravko was at home at the time.

“It was 100% his house. Locals say that they saw him near the house on that day. There’s no information whether he was there at the time of the explosion or if he had left. Zhuravko had not lived there for a while,” Ukrainian Mayor of Oleshky Yevhen Ryshchuk told Suspilne.

On 14 June, Russia-installed Mayor of Nova Kakhovka Vladimir Leontyev claimed that he was targeted by an assassination attempt carried out with M982 Excalibur guided artillery shells.