The deputy governor of Russia’s Kherson Region, Vitaly Bulyuk, is in hospital and his driver is dead, after their vehicle struck a mine on Monday, according to local authorities. Bulyuk has been in charge of economic and financial matters in the former Ukrainian region that joined Russia this fall.
Bulyuk has been injured and his condition is “moderate but stable,” Vadim Ilmiev, the region’s health minister, told reporters. “He is in one of the regional hospitals.”
The deputy governor’s driver died on the scene, the official stated, adding that the car caught fire and burned down.
“Ukrainian terrorists made an attempt at Vitaly Bulyuk’s life, blowing up his car during an official trip to the city of Skadovsk on December 12,” Kherson authorities said in an official statement about the incident.
“Unfortunately, a civilian lost his life in the terrorist act,” the caretaker governor of the region, Vladimir Saldo, wrote on his Telegram channel. Bulyuk himself was wounded, but his injuries were not life-threatening, Saldo confirmed. He sent his condolences to the family and friends of the man who was killed, promising full moral and material support.
Law enforcement is investigating the incident and those responsible “will be found and punished to the full extent of the law,” Saldo added.
Bulyuk’s portfolio in the regional administration included economic affairs, budget and finance, farming and revenue. Another deputy head of the region, Kirill Stremousov, died in a car crash last month.
Russia incorporated Kherson Region in October, after the majority of residents voted in favor of such a move during the referendum. Kherson has been under Russian control between early March and November, when the Defense Ministry ordered a pullout of troops from the right bank of the Dnieper Riever, where the region's eponymous capital city is located.