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Ukrainian Forces Eliminate Key Occupation Figure Behind Torture Order in Kherson Region
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![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
A top Russian occupation official in southern Ukraine has died in hospital after being severely wounded in a Ukrainian drone strike, Volodymyr Saldo, the head of the Russian-occupied part of Kherson region, reported on October 1.
Volodymyr Leontyev, the Moscow-installed head of the so-called Council of Deputies in Nova Kakhovka, was fatally injured when a Ukrainian heavy bomb-dropping drone hit his vehicle, according to Saldo.
Leontyev previously served as the head of the Kremlin-controlled “administration” of Nova Kakhovka and was regarded as one of the most influential collaborators in the occupied Kherson region.
There’s Ukrainian traitor Volodymyr Leontiev has been killed in a drone strike.
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) October 1, 2025
Leontiev took the position of Mayor in the occupied city of Nova Kakhovka after the Russian invasion and helped them round up local Ukrainians. pic.twitter.com/xNhkSZrvy1
In March 2025, a Ukrainian court sentenced him in absentia to 15 years in prison for violating the laws and customs of war.
Investigators found that in March 2022, Leontyev ordered Russian troops to abduct and torture Oleksandr Shapovalov, the elected mayor of the nearby town of Beryslav.
His name appeared frequently in reports by Ukrainian and international human rights organizations, which documented abuses linked to his role in enforcing Russian rule in occupied Kherson.
Earlier, reports emerged that in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, Russian authorities were imposing new restrictions on schoolchildren by inspecting their phones to block access to independent sources of information.
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