A Russian-appointed official in southeastern Ukraines occupied region of Zaporizhzhia was killed in a car bomb attack, a member of the Moscow-backed regional administrationsaid Wednesday.The assassination of Ivan Sushko, who headed the town of Mykhailivka, is the latest of several attacks against pro-Russian officials in the occupied regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in recent weeks.An explosive device was placed under the car seat, Vladimir Rogov, a member of Zaporizhzhias Russian-appointed administration, wrote on messaging app Telegram.Ivan Sushko was wounded in the explosion and hospitalized in a critical condition, Rogov said.
He soon died.Sushkos death follows an attempted car bombing Tuesday on Russian-appointed Kherson region official Igor Telegin, who survived.Earlier this month, the Moscow-installed head of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, was hospitalized in Moscow after what Russias Defense Ministry claimed was an attempted poisoning.His deputy Vitaly Gura was shot and killed a day later.Responding to Sushkos assassination, Rogov called Ukraine a terrorist organization and called for its destruction.The Kremlin has been pressing ahead with a campaign of Russification in the areas of southern and eastern Ukraine that it occupies.