Ukraine war: Partisan attack kills police chief in Russian-occupied Melitopol

A constabulary main successful the occupied Ukrainian metropolis of Melitopol, who defected to Russia aft they seized the city, has been killed successful an evident partisan bombing.

Oleksandr Mishchenko died erstwhile an improvised instrumentality exploded astatine the entranceway to the artifact wherever helium lived.

There person precocious been reports of heightened Ukrainian partisan enactment successful the region.

Melitopol's exiled politician said the dormant serviceman was a traitor.

The metropolis is successful Zaporizhzhia province, 1 of 4 regions that Russia claimed to person annexed past twelvemonth pursuing its invasion, contempt lone partially controlling them.

After Mariupol, Melitopol is the largest metropolis connected territory occupied by Russia since February 2022.

Russia's Interior Ministry said the detonation happened astatine 05:20 section clip (02:20 GMT).

It added that 2 policemen were injured and hospitalised but subsequently 1 of them died.

A video of the country showed a crater adjacent to the flat gathering and adjacent cars with breached windows.

"The way of each collaborator is predictable: yesterday betrayal, contiguous panic, time massacre," exiled Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov wrote connected his Telegram transmission astir the killing.

He said that earlier the penetration Mishchenko had been main of the Priazovsky territory constabulary department, adding that helium not lone defected but besides "tricked his employees into becoming traitors". It is unclear what Mr Fedorov meant by the allegation.

Volodymyr Rogov, a Russian-installed authoritative successful Zaporizhzhia region, said Mishchenko had respective times been threatened by "terrorists" for "restoring bid to the region, preventing amerciable acts and creating bid successful his autochthonal land".

Last twelvemonth a fig of Russian-installed officials were killed successful attacks successful occupied areas, including Zaporizhzhia region.

One of them was Oleh Boyko, the lawman politician of the metropolis of Berdyansk, who died on with his woman successful September successful an evident assassination.

And a fig of Russian-installed officials were killed successful the confederate metropolis of Kherson past twelvemonth by partisan enactment up of the palmy Ukrainian violative that captured the city.