A pro-Kremlin politician labeled a war criminal by Ukraine has been killed in a car bomb attack in occupied Luhansk, the second killing of its kind this week.
Footage showed Oleg Popov's car burning after an explosion near the city stadium.
The Kiev Post reported that the “special operation” was organized by Ukraine's security service, which was later confirmed by a secret service source who spoke to Pravda.
A source told the Post that Popov, 51, was a “fairly legitimate target because, before becoming a deputy, he commanded many Russian volunteer battalions, led illegal armed formations and killed Ukrainians.”
“Undermining the leader is the best advertisement for the effectiveness of this committee's work,” the source said.
It was the second killing of a Ukrainian “traitor” this week, with former MP Ilya Kyva, 46, shot dead near a country club near Moscow where he was living in exile on Wednesday.
Local MP Oleg Popov, 51, was killed in a car bomb attack in the occupied city of Luhansk on December 6
Image shows the outcome of a fatal car bomb attack in Luhansk, near the stadium, on December 6
It was first reported that Popov had been injured in an attack in Luhansk on Wednesday.
But Russia's Investigative Committee later confirmed that Popov's death was caused by a device that exploded in his car.
“As a result of the car explosion near the Avangard sports stadium in Luhansk, our colleague… Oleg Nikolaevich Popov died,” confirmed Yuri Yurov, another deputy in the Luhansk regional parliament.
A criminal case has been opened against the car bombing, in which the Russian FSB is involved.
'It was the second assassination attempt on Oleg. The first was on September 20, 2022,” he added, blaming Ukraine for the first attempt.
In September 2022, Popov's death was first reported as a result of a contract killing.
But in February 2023, Popov returned to work. Reports of his death were called part of Russia's “operational game.”
He became a local politician in the so-called Luhansk People's Republic after joining a pro-Putin armed group that seized the region's SBU intelligence building in 2014, when Russian forces took over the Donbas region.
Oleg Popov was the head of the Committee on State Security and Defense in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region.
He is one of dozens of prominent backers of the Russian invasion who have been targeted since the February 2022 invasion.
Also on Wednesday, prominent Ukrainian enemy Ilya Kyva was killed in exile on the grounds of Velich Country Club, Russia.
It was revealed today that he had been shot twice in the head and chest but staggered to get help before collapsing in the snow.
His body was found by club employees about an hour after he was shot by a suspected SBU assassin operating close to Moscow.
The club's director, Yulia Sinitsina, said a resident found the body and told her.
“I called the police,” she said.
Kyva had been living with a friend at the club – which had hotel facilities and “good security”, according to reports.
In April last year, Kyva urged Putin to use weapons of mass destruction against his own country, amid growing fears that Russia could resort to the use of nuclear weapons (File Photo)
Kyva was accused of treason for supporting Putin before his sudden death (File Photo)
He had been shot while walking around the grounds.
One theory is that the killer was another guest staying at the club.
The Russian Investigative Committee is investigating the murder.
Hours before the assassination, Kyva had said in his last social media post that a defeated Volodymyr Zelensky would be forced to flee to Britain.
A Kremlin propagandist who appeared on well-behaved state television programs, he had claimed that Zelensky was an MI6 stooge and cocaine addict.
Five hours before his death from a suspected knife wound to the left temple, he posted: 'Zelensky's only option is to flee to England, but even from there he will be extradited if it suits the Crown, or die if necessary for the government.' Kremlin.'
Kyva – a regular on Putin's TV propaganda programs – was wanted in his home country for high treason in supporting Putin's invasion.
A former police officer and official, he led the Socialist Party in the Ukrainian parliament from 2017 to 2019.
In 2019, he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Ukrainian presidency, but then turned to Russia.
He asked Putin for political asylum and a Russian passport, after previously unleashing his vitriol against Moscow.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said: “Regardless of the Kyva incident, it is very important that anyone who is actively cooperating in one way or another with the Russian occupation governments understands that their risks are extreme.
'Even if they are on Russian territory.
“Of course, the activities and capabilities of the Ukrainian special services have grown enormously over the past two years.
“The risks for such people will be maintained or even multiplied.”
Kyva was expelled from parliament shortly after Russia invaded last February because he repeated Kremlin propaganda that the country was overrun by Nazis, has no future and must be 'liberated' by Putin (File Photo)
Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov also made it clear that his state was responsible for the killing.
'We can confirm that [Ilya] Kyva is the real deal,” he said.
“This is the fate that befalls Ukraine's biggest traitors, as well as the accomplices of the Putin regime.
'He was one of the greatest and most disgusting villains, a traitor and collaborator.
'So here we can only say that justice… has different forms…
'Characters like Kyva among others…unfortunately there are still plenty of them in Russia.'