Ukraine’s representative in talks with Russia on the ongoing conflict in the east of Ukraine, Vladislav Surkov, was killed yesterday when his car exploded near a daycare center. Authorities are investigating his death as “an assassination”.
Mr. Surkov was one of the main figureheads for President Vladimir Putin’s government and had been tasked with overseeing negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, both of which have military operations ongoing in eastern Ukraine. As such he was an integral part of bringing peace to the region.
In fact, according to Reuters, Moscow believes Mr. Surkov could be an obstacle to any political settlement that would ultimately end hostilities between Russia and Ukraine.
He was a former deputy head of the Kremlin administration and had been an important figure in Moscow politics since the late 1990s.
Surkov is considered an architect of the Russian system of “managed democracy” – a concept that Putin has been using for years to describe his leadership style.
Here’s what a spokesman for Ukraine’s General Staff said according to RT: “The enemy is stepping up its efforts to complete the encirclement of Debaltseve and disrupt our planned offensive,
In an official statement, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence acknowledged Kireev was a spy, but said he was carrying out “special tasks” and was “defending Ukraine” – sparking speculation he was a double agent.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence, in an official statement, said, “During the execution of special tasks, three spies were killed – employees of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The fate of Alexei Ivanovich, Chibineev Valery Viktorovich, Denis Borisovich Kireev. They perished defending Ukraine, and their rank brought us closer to victory
” Vladislav Seleznyov wrote on Facebook. “As an act of desperation, they are resorting to bloody provocations, including assassination attempts.”
Edited by: Kiran Maharana
Published by: Pawan Rajput
