Oleg Tsaryov, a pro-Russian Ukrainian politician who fled Ukraine in 2014, was shot in the early hours of Oct. 27 in Russian-occupied Crimea, according to Russian reports.
Tsaryov is a Dnipro-born businessman and former lawmaker for the former pro-Russian Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych's Party of the Regions.
Following the EuroMaidan Revolution, he nominated himself as a candidate for the 2014 presidential elections but later withdrew his candidacy, claiming his safety was at risk.
He went on to serve as an official of Russia's illegitimate proxies in Ukraine's Donbas region.
Tsaryov is now reportedly in hospital in serious condition.
"Information about the attempt on Oleg Tsaryov is confirmed by his relatives. Around midnight, he was shot twice in the territory of the sanatorium where he lives," Tsaryov's telegram channel claimed.
Tsaryov has been wanted by the Ukrainian authorities since after Russia's initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014 for supporting the Russian occupation of Ukrainian territories.
In March 2022, a Kyiv court brought new charges against him after he appeared in Russian-occupied Borodianka in Kyiv Oblast, claiming to be delivering humanitarian aid.
U.S. intelligence identified Tsaryov as a potential puppet leader the Kremlin could have installed if they had been successful in occupying Kyiv, according to the New York Times.
Tsaryov openly admitted to the New York Times that he participated in Russia's full-scale invasion.
He has been under Western sanctions since 2014.
Oleg Sukhov
