Overview

• Regional chief Vladimir Saldo said Vladimir Leontyev was gravely wounded in an early-morning strike in Nova Kakhovka and died shortly after in hospital.
• Russian state media released surveillance footage purporting to show the explosion and reported that two other civilians were wounded.
• Moscow-backed authorities blamed Ukraine for the attack, though independent on-the-ground verification remains limited in available reporting.
• Leontyev, 61, was appointed after Russia seized the town in 2022 and was charged by Ukraine with collaboration, and Saldo described him as an early supporter of United Russia.
• The killing aligns with a broader pattern of targeted strikes on pro-Russian officials and collaborators reported across occupied territories in 2024–2025.