Official Shot Dead in Zaporizhzhia Threatened by Military Administration Head

On the morning of Tuesday, May 11, an unknown gunman shot and killed Maksym Denshchyk, a local government official who had been temporarily suspended from his post as director of the legal support department in Zaporizhzhia, the National Police of Zaporizhzhia region reports. The Zaporizhzhia City Council expressed condolences to the family of the deceased, who died while receiving medical care at the scene.

Denshchyk had previously reported being put under pressure and receiving threats from the head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration (ZOVA) Ivan Fedorov.

“He ‘nicely’ offered me several times to resign from the position of my own free will,” Denshchyk wrote on his Facebook page on May 2, adding, “I refused because I believe I am honestly and conscientiously fulfilling my duties! As of today, Ivan is threatening me directly and through various people with reprisals from law enforcement agencies!"

Later on Tuesday, Fedorov reacted to Denshchyk's murder:

“I promptly met with law enforcement agencies, and the police are conducting investigative and search operations. The investigation of the high-profile murder is under special control,” Fedorov wrote on Telegram.

According to local law enforcement, on June 11, at 07:55 the attacker shot his victim in the stomach at least four times at the entrance to the high-rise building and fled the scene.

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Investigators opened criminal proceedings over the incident. The legal classification is Part 1 Article 115 (Murder) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Priority investigative and detective actions are underway.