On the morning of 8 November, several Russian sources reported that the “Luhansk People’s Republic MP” Colonel Mikhail Filiponenko died in a car explosion in occupied Luhansk.

Russia’s state-funded news agency TASS says Filiponenko was the deputy of the so-called People’s Council of the Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR), a parliament-like body established by the Russian occupation forces in Luhansk. He was the former “chief of the directorate of the People’s Militia of the LNR.”

Quisling official Yurii Yurov was the first to report Filiponenko’s death, although he did not mention any details. Yurov mentions him as Filipponenko, so it remains unclear which spelling of the colonel’s last name is correct.

Later, the so-called Luhansk Information Center, the official press service of the Russian occupation authorities, reported that Filiponenko was allegedly killed by a car bomb.

Currently, only Russian sources claim that Filiponenko was killed, not presenting any convincing evidence.

As of the time of publication of this article, Ukrainian officials did not comment on the alleged death of Filiponenko.

Previously, in early October, a quisling official sharing a local branch of Putin’s United Russia party in Kherson’s Russian-occupied Nova Kakhovka died following the detonation of his car.

Car bomb kills Russia’s “LNR colonel” Filiponenko in occupied Luhansk