Car belonging to people's deputy Kovalov is blown up - intelligence chief

DENYS KARLOVSKYI - WEDNESDAY, 22 JUNE 2022, 21:02 

Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Chief Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence, has confirmed that a car belonging to people's deputy Oleksii Kovalov has been blown up in Kherson Oblast.

Source: Budanov's comment live on 24-hour television channel 

Quote from Budanov: "I can confirm that a certain action was taken. The car was definitely blown up. What condition this collaborator and traitor is in is still to be determined."

Details: Budanov explained that any "unusual" events in Kherson Oblast over the past four days were due to the resistance movement, which is cooperating with the Ukrainian security forces, including military intelligence.

Background: 

• On the morning of 22 June, unverified information was circulating on social media to the effect that [Russian collaborator] Kovalov had been blown up in Kherson on the afternoon of 22 June. The Ukrainian military and political leadership subsequently denied this information.

• On 8 June Kovalov, a people's deputy from the Servant of the People party, admitted on his Facebook page that he was cooperating with the Russian occupiers in the Kherson region. The Servant of the People faction asked the leaders of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) to immediately revoke his mandate.

• In early April, Kovalov wrote on his Facebook page that he had gone to Hola Prystan in Kherson Oblast despite the Russian occupation, because he "had to work in his district". On 25 April, parliament leaders stated that they did not know where Kovalov was or what he was doing.
• On 28 April, the Servant of the People faction announced that it had suspended his membership in the party and the faction, and would be contacting law enforcement officials. The people's deputy was in contact with the Russian military in Kherson Oblast. According to him, there was no threat to his life and health, which raised concerns among the Ukrainian authorities that he might be working for the occupying country.
• On 3 May, deputies expelled Kovalov from the Servant of the People faction.