Security incidents and political violence in Berdyansk and surrounding areas
A vehicle belonging to a local official, Artem Bardin, the Berdyansk commander, was destroyed by an explosion near the city administration building in the city center on a Tuesday. The incident was confirmed by the Berdyansk mayor via the town’s Telegram channel.
The official was transported to a hospital in serious condition. Later, a report from the RIA Novosti news agency, citing the local government, stated that the official had died. Nearby, three other vehicles sustained damage, but there were no reported injuries among those occupants. City authorities attributed the attack to “the terrorists of the Kyiv regime.”
During a broadcast on Channel One, Vladimir Rogov, a member of the main council of the administration of the Zaporozhye region, described the moment of the explosion as powerful and said that investigators and emergency services were on the scene gathering facts. He noted that there had been a clash after the blast.
Earlier, on August 30, another explosion hit one of the headquarters of the “We are with Russia” movement in Berdyansk. There were no casualties, and Rogov later characterized that blast as another terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime.
On August 26, an explosion occurred near the health improvement center “Krivoy Rog Miner” in Berdyansk. The city administration reported that Alexander Kolesnikov, the deputy head of the city traffic police, sustained shrapnel wounds and was admitted to a hospital for treatment.
On August 24, an attempt targeted the head of the interim administration of the urban-type settlement of Mikhailovka in the Zaporozhye region. An explosive device was placed under the seat of his car, and Ivan Sushko died as a result of the blast.
Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the pro-Russian authorities in the region, announced on August 23 that his statement targeted the life of Igor Telegin, who serves as the deputy head of the domestic policy department of the Kherson regional administration.
A homemade explosive device exploded in another incident. Stremousov later told RIA Novosti that the person involved was alive and in good condition following the attempt, despite the threatening situation.
Vitaly Gura, the deputy head of the Nova Kakhovka administration, died in an explosion on August 6. Alexei Selivanov, deputy regional director of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, said that on July 11 an attempted attack targeted Andrei Siguta, the head of the Melitopol district administration in the Zaporozhye region. Siguta survived the incident and continued his duties as planned. Selivanov added that the attacker was later killed in a confrontation with law enforcement during an ensuing chase in a forested area, after resisting arrest with armed force.
Another fatal incident occurred on June 24 when Dmitry Savluchenko, an employee of the Kherson regional administration, died in a car explosion. Earlier on June 18, an attack targeted Yevgeny Sobolev, head of the USIN in the Kherson region, with a bomb placed on his car. Sobolev was injured and transported to hospital. Investigators later detained suspects connected to the plot, and they reportedly confessed to organizing the bombing.
Throughout this period, Russian forces conducted operations in the southern territories, securing coastal areas of the Zaporozhye region and much of the Kherson region. Cities such as Kherson, Melitopol, and Berdyansk fell under occupation. Interim administrations were established in both regions, and statements by their representatives during the summer indicated plans to hold referendums on joining the Russian Federation.