Ivan Sushko, the head of Mykhailivka in the Zaporizhzhia region, was blown up when a bomb placed under the seat of his vehicle was detonated by unknown assailants, according to Vladimir Rogov, a spokesman for the local Russian proxy administration. Rogov announced on Telegram that Susko was rushed to a hospital in critical condition after the blast, but succumbed to his injuries there. The death of Susko – who reportedly made a living as a toastmaster at weddings and at Santa Claus before being appointed to run Mykahilivka in April – comes just a day after local authorities said another Russian agent had survived a similar assassination attempt . Igor Telegin, the Russian-appointed deputy head of internal policy for occupied Kherson, was taken to hospital with injuries all over his body after his car was hit by a radio-controlled roadside bomb late Monday. But local authorities insist he is still “alive and well” with “no complications”. At least two other officials appointed to run the “new” Russian-controlled administrations have been killed in recent weeks. Vitaly Gura, an official in the town of Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region, died on August 6 after being shot near his home, local authorities said. Dmitry Savlushenko, another official in Russian-controlled Kherson, was killed in late June by a car bomb that the Kremlin described as a “terrorist act.” Russian proxy leaders have blamed Ukrainian forces for the killings, although Ukrainian authorities say they believe an underground network is actively fighting Russia’s takeover by taking out Russian-backed officials one by one. The latest killing came as Ukrainians celebrated Independence Day and the US announced nearly $3 billion in additional military aid, exactly six months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion, unleashing destruction and airstrikes as Russian troops tried but failed to grasp the Ukrainian capital and install new leadership. “Half a year ago Russia declared war on us. On February 24, all of Ukraine heard the explosions and gunfire. And on August 24, the words Happy Independence Day were not meant to be heard. On February 24, we were told, “you have no chance.” On August 24, we say, Happy Independence Day, Ukraine!’ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a speech on Wednesday. “The enemy thought we would meet them with flowers and champagne. Instead, they received funeral wreaths and molotov cocktails.… The passengers believed [Russian] there would be a parade in the center of our capital in a few days. Today at [the main street] you are likely to see this parade…. It was burned, destroyed and destroyed” Russian military equipment, Zelensky said. Promising “no compromises”, Zelensky pledged to take back all the lands seized by Russian forces. “You don’t want your soldiers to die? Free our land. Don’t want your mothers to cry? Free our land,” he said. Russia, meanwhile, spent the Ukraine holiday trying to contain its military failures in the country. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, in a meeting with defense officials, acknowledged the slowdown in Moscow’s territorial gains but claimed it was a deliberate move to “prevent civilian casualties,” Russia’s TASS news agency reported. British intelligence has reported that Russia has made “minimal progress” in eastern Ukraine after making the region its new priority once it realized a full takeover had failed. “Operationally, Russia suffers from shortages of ammunition, vehicles and personnel. Morale is poor in many parts of its military and its army is significantly degraded,” the defense ministry said in its latest assessment. Amid fledgling military operations in Ukraine, Russia has also begun to step up its attacks on critics of the war at home. Yevgeny Roizman, the opposition politician and former mayor of Yekaterinburg, on Wednesday became the latest war opponent to be jailed for allegedly “discrediting” the Russian military. Roizman joins at least 200 other people now facing criminal charges for speaking out against Moscow’s aggression against Ukraine.
