Overview
- Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence identified the victim as Lt. Col. Veniamin Mazzherin, a deputy commander linked to the OMON “Obereg” unit in Russia’s Kemerovo region.
- The agency says the blast occurred on October 25 and published video showing surveillance and a vehicle exploding after a remote trigger.
- Ukraine has pursued legal cases against personnel of the Obereg unit for alleged violations of the laws and customs of war in the Kyiv region in February–March 2022.
- The operation fits a series of recent killings of Russian figures inside Russia, including car‑bomb attacks and other remote‑detonation devices reported in Moscow and Luhansk.
- Reporting on the claim came as regional authorities said Russian fire struck a children’s hospital in Kherson and Ukrainian officials reported Russian infiltration into Pokrovsk.