Manolis Pilavov, the former Russian-installed mayor of Luhansk, was killed in a midday explosion in the city’s center on July 3. The incident, reported by Russian state news agency TASS, resulted in three injuries, one of them in serious condition. Pilavov, who served as the city’s occupation administrator from 2014 until stepping down in 2023, had been wanted in Ukraine since 2015 on charges including attempting to violently overthrow the constitutional order and violating Ukraine’s territorial integrity. The attack appears to be part of a broader trend of targeted strikes against Russian-backed collaborators and occupation officials in Ukraine’s eastern regions. Ukraine has not yet commented on the incident, despite the increasing frequency of such attacks in recent months.
Pilavov, born in 1964, held several posts in the local Luhansk administration before Russia occupied parts of Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk Oblast in 2014. He served as a city council member representing the now-banned pro-Russian Party of Regions and later actively supported the local Russian occupation administration. Ukrainian authorities say Pilavov participated in separatist propaganda events and encouraged support for Moscow’s proxy occupation structures shortly after Russian-backed militants took control of parts of Luhansk Oblast in 2014. Luhansk remains under Russian occupation, with its city center and government institutions controlled by Kremlin-installed proxies.
The blast occurred around noon local time, according to TASS, highlighting the high-risk environment for occupation officials. The Ukrainian government has not officially acknowledged Pilavov’s death, emphasizing its stance of denouncing all forms of Russian aggression and occupation. The incident serves as another example of the ongoing conflict in the Donbas region, where Ukrainian forces continue to target pro-Russian collaborators and occupation structures. The frequency of such attacks has increased in recent months, reflecting the intensifying conflict and the determination of both sides to undermine the other’s infrastructure and personnel.