The former head of the "people's militia" of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic, Mykhailo (Mikhail) Filiponenko, was killed in a car blast in Luhansk, the Russian news website Meduza has quoted local "deputy" Yuriy Yurov, as well as the son of the deceased, as saying.
Filiponenko's son said that his father was killed by an explosive device planted in his car.
Later, the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine confirmed that a war criminal was killed in occupied Luhansk.
"On 8 November 2023, at 08:40 a.m., a so-called deputy of the so-called Supreme Council of the LPR from the Russian LDPR party, Mikhail Yuryevich Filiponenko, was killed as a result of a car explosion. He was involved in the organisation of torture chambers in the occupied territories of Luhansk Region, where prisoners of war and civilian hostages were subjected to inhuman torture. Filiponenko himself personally brutally tortured people," the intelligence said.
Filiponenko, who previously held the post of the LPR interior minister, lived at 48 Parashutna Street, Luhansk.
The intelligence reported that the special operation to eliminate Filiponenko was carried out jointly with representatives of the resistance movement.
Filiponenko died on the spot as a result of the morning explosion.