In a startling turn of events, Oleg Tsaryov, a prominent pro-Moscow Ukrainian politician who was once rumored to lead a Kremlin-controlled puppet government, finds himself in critical condition following a vicious attack. Tsaryov was shot twice by an unknown assailant while staying at a sanatorium in Crimea, with associates confirming the grim circumstances.
Vladimir Rogov, a close ally of Tsaryov’s and a Russian-installed official in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, confirmed the attempt on Tsaryov’s life, dispelling earlier reports of stabbing. Rogov conveyed that Tsaryov had lost a substantial amount of blood and was currently in intensive care, receiving the utmost medical attention.
In an official statement from Tsaryov’s Telegram account, his relatives confirmed the assassination attempt. When the ambulance arrived to transport him, Tsaryov was unconscious and had suffered significant blood loss. The Russian FSB law enforcement and intelligence service has initiated a criminal case in response to the attempted murder, although no suspect has been named as of yet.
Notably, Tsaryov had been allegedly considered by the Kremlin to lead an occupation government during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Despite these claims, Tsaryov himself dismissed them as “pretty funny,” citing his absence from Kremlin television and his position as a “sanatorium director in Yalta.”
A report from the British Foreign Office had suggested Moscow’s plans to install a puppet government in Ukraine, mentioning Tsaryov among other figures. However, Tsaryov refuted these claims and questioned the coherence of the report.
Oleg Tsaryov’s political career took a significant shift when he switched allegiance from the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada parliament to support Russian proxy forces seeking secession from Ukraine in 2014. He subsequently became the speaker of the parliament of “Novorossiya,” a short-lived confederation of separatist governments in Donetsk and Luhansk endorsed by the Kremlin and openly advocating annexation into Russia.
Wanted by Ukraine on charges of separatism, Tsaryov now joins a list of Russian nationalists and pro-Russian Ukrainians targeted in assassination attempts, some of which are suspected to have ties to Ukrainian intelligence.
The Washington Post recently reported that the CIA had allegedly supported new departments within Ukraine’s SBU and GUR military intelligence agencies, which had carried out assassinations of prominent individuals, including the fatal car bombing near Moscow that claimed the life of Darya Dugina, daughter of the Russian far-right philosopher Alexander Dugin. This unsettling development highlights the ongoing complexity of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
