UKRaine Admits Blowing Up Putin Ally in Car Bomb, Calls it Warning for ‘traitors’ and ‘war criminals’; RUssia Suffers Setbacks Across UKR Frontline; UKR’s Forces Repel 50+ Attacks in 4 Directions; UKR Kills 780 RUs, Destroy 29 Artillery Systems in 1 Day, LIVE UPDATES and MORE

Ukraine admits blowing up Putin ally in car bomb, calls it warning for ‘traitors’ and ‘war criminals’:

Ukraine admitted blowing up a Russia-backed politician in a car bomb Wednesday, calling it retribution for a “war criminal” and “executioner.”

Mikhail Filiponenko, a deputy in the pro-Moscow Lugansk regional parliament and a former police chief, was killed in the early morning explosion — having survived a previous blast in February 2022, days before Russia invaded Ukraine.

Photos from the scene showed a mangled dark-colored SUV with blood smeared across the backseat and coating the side of the vehicle. 

Within hours, Ukraine’s military spy agency confirmed it was responsible for having eliminated Filiponenko in a joint operation with local “resistance” forces.

Filiponenko was targeted as a “war criminal” and “executioner” who ran “torture camps” in Luhansk where prisoners of war and even civilians suffered “inhumane” treatment, the intelligence agency claimed.

“Filiponenko himself personally brutally tortured people,” the spy agency claimed.

The assassination was called a warning that “traitors to Ukraine and collaborators with terrorist Russia in temporarily occupied territories … will receive just retribution!

“The hunt continues!,” Kyiv’s intelligence operatives said. —>READ MORE HERE

Russia suffers setbacks across Ukraine frontline as rains stall Putin’s ‘third wave’:

Ukrainian troops have repelled several Russian assaults in the past 24 hours in separate parts of the country as heavy rain has spoiled Vladimir Putin’s plan to recapture the strategic city of Avdiivka for a third time, officials said.

The General Staff of Armed Forces of Ukraine said its troops beat back at least 15 attacks near Kupiansk in northeastern Ukraine and 18 attacks near Maryinka further south, where heavy fighting has been concentrated for months.

It said nine attacks were repelled in and near Avdiivka, which has been subjected to intense fighting. Moscow looks to recapture the strategic city that is a crucial gateway to Donetsk, the primary communication hub within the occupied territories.

Moscow has already made two failed advances to recapture the industrial city that has been described as the “next Bakhmut”, which has seen some of the most intense fighting since the Russian invasion began last year.

Several days of rain on the battlefield, however, have stalled Mr Putin’s third major advance and ruled out any new Russian movements, Vitaliy Barabash, head of Avdiivka’s military administration said.

“We’ve had nearly a week of heavy rain. The terrain is too difficult and equipment cannot move,” the official said.

Russian forces have been targeting Avdiivka with artillery for the past week, Mr Barabash said.

“The third wave will definitely happen. The enemy is regrouping after a second wave of unsuccessful attacks,” he said. —>READ MORE HERE

Follow links below to +++++relevant+++++ and related stories:

+++++Russia-Ukraine News LATEST UPDATES: (REUTERS) (AP) (NY POST) and (WSJ)+++++

++++Ukraine’s defense forces repel over 50 attacks in four directions++++++

+++++Ukrainian defenders kill 780 Russians and destroy 29 artillery systems in one day+++++

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