An assassination attempt on exiled former Ukrainian MP Oleg Tsarev was a special operation by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), Ukrainska Pravda and Liga reported, citing sources within the intelligence agency on 27 October.
According to the SBU insider, Tsarev had long been on a list of traitors who must answer for their crimes, making him a legitimate target. The source said Tsarev personally arrived in Kyiv with Russian tanks when Russia attempted to capture the capital after invading Ukraine in February 2022.
Tsarev, 53, was one of Ukraine’s most pro-Kremlin political figures before fleeing to Russia in 2014 following its annexation of Crimea. In Ukraine, he has been convicted in absentia and sentenced to 12 years in prison for infringing on the country’s territorial integrity. He also faces treason and collaboration charges for supporting Russia’s full-scale.
The SBU source confirmed Tsarev was shot twice with a firearm in the attack, which occurred at a sanatorium in Russian-occupied Crimea late at night on 27 October. His condition is said to be critical based on operational information.
Pro-Russian collaborant Vladimir Rogov stated on Telegram that Tsarev is currently in intensive care after being shot at the sanatorium where he was staying. Rogov also claimed the attack took place in Yalta, Crimea.
Before Russia’s invasion, Western intelligence reported that Tsarev was being considered by the Kremlin to lead a puppet government in Ukraine if Russia succeeded in occupying Kyiv.
In March 2022, Tsarev arrived in Kyiv Oblast along with Russian troops and urged the surrender of the city of Kryvyi Rih (President Zelenskyy’s hometown) to the Russian occupiers, according to Ukrainian authorities.
While in exile in Russia, Tsarev has actively justified Russia’s war crimes against Ukrainian civilians on social media and in public statements.
The details of the SBU’s alleged operation against Tsarev are not being disclosed currently. But the insider maintained the collaborator and former lawmaker was a lawful target for Ukrainian intelligence.
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