Filiponenko’s car exploded this morning when he was trying to get in. The former army boss suffered “fatal injuries” in the explosion, his son Ivan told local media.
Filiponenko, a member of Putin’s inner circle, was born in Luhansk. In 2014, he joined the pro-Russian mercenaries who seized power in the eastern Ukrainian region. An attack was also carried out on Filiponenko in February 2022, but only his driver was injured.
Ukraine has now claimed responsibility for the assassination attempt on Filiponenko. “Yes, it was our operation,” confirms Andriy Cherniak, head of Ukrainian military intelligence.
“Filiponenko was involved in the organization of torture camps in the occupied territories of the Luhansk region, where prisoners of war and civilians held hostage were subjected to inhuman torture. He also brutally tortured people himself,” Cherniak said. “All war criminals must be punished.”
In September 2022, Russia announced the annexation of the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhia. Kiev and its Western allies do not recognize the annexations, which were illegal.