Russian propagandist dies in occupied Kherson

Oleg Klokov, a Russian propagandist and former employee of the Perviy Kanal and RT, died in occupied Kherson. This was reported by Ukrainian journalist Denys Kazansky.

"As a result of the attack on a Russian river crossing in Kherson, Russian propagandist, former employee of Perviy Kanal and RT Oleg Klokov died. He helped the occupation administration to create a propaganda TV channel in Kherson. Should have been working at home, in Russia – this way he would be alive and well. No need to come to a foreign country bringing war, it always ends badly," the journalist wrote.

Russian media and social media groups also reported the death of Oleg Klokov. According to them, he was killed by shelling at the river crossing.

Kateryna Gubareva, appointed by the occupation authorities as "deputy head of the Kherson Oblast MSA," reported that Klokov was a journalist for "Tavria". We will remind you that the occupiers created this channel on the basis of the seized Suspilne Kherson.

Previously, Klokov worked for Previy Kanal, Moskva 24, and Russia Today,

"Tavria" previously reported that the TV and radio company's employees and their relatives were injured, and announced that about 12 people were wounded and three people were killed. The channel does not mention the names of the dead, however.

According to Kiril Stremousov, appointed by the occupation authorities as the "deputy governor of the Kherson region," "Tavria" cameraman Ruslan Voskresensky and two journalists of the channel, Kostyantyn Mochar and Vlada Lugovska, were injured.

As Most writes, the river crossing was attacked at around 11 p.m. on October 20. The occupiers had mentioned the river crossing's working hours in their SMS-messages about evacuation: from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. No messages mentioned the crossing operating at night.

The media also reminds that there is a curfew in occupied Kherson that lasts from 22:00 to 05:00. The media concludes that at 11:00 p.m., the occupiers were only transporting "people from some categories that are special for them, who had permission to move around the city during the curfew" to the Dnipro's left bank.

"These could be either military or civilian Russians who worked for the occupation authorities, or some of the local collaborators. If someone really was crossing with their family, with underage children, and if there are indeed victims among the children, then the fault lies entirely with the occupiers. They were the ones who put people at risk, knowing that the crossing is also used to move the occupiers' military equipment and manpower, therefore it is a legitimate target during military operations," the media notes.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed striking the Antoniv bridge near the temporarily occupied Kherson. However, they denied that civilians could have been injured.

On the air of the telethon, Natalya Humenyuk, the spokeswoman of the "South" Operational Command, denied the Russians' claims about civilians being killed by the shelling of the Antoniv bridge.

"Even the occupiers say that there should be no civilians on the bridge at this time, because these are curfew hours," she said, according to Hromadske.

Instead, the victims may be the occupiers themselves who had changed into civilian clothes, the spokeswoman said. The Russian propaganda media reported that three people died as a result of the attack and 9 people were injured.

According to Humenyuk, by wearing civilian clothes, the occupiers are trying to hide their affiliation with the military and to make it seem that civilians were fired upon. The command representative says that such provocations were to be expected.

As IMI reported, on March 3 in Kherson, the occupiers took over the premises of Suspilne branch, the staff continues to work remotely. Armed men set up trip wires around the building. In addition, the occupiers, who had seized the television studio and the TV center, cut off the Ukrainian television signal.

The Kherson Regional Prosecutor's Office has opened a criminal investigation into the seizure and mining of the Kherson branch of Suspilne Broadcaster by Russian security forces. The case has been opened under Art. 341, part 1 of Art. 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: seizure of state or public buildings, facilities, as well as for violations of the laws and customs of war.

On May 11, the collaborators announced that the TV and radio company "Tavria" will start broadcasting in the region.

On May 16, Suspilne announced that the Russian military had looted the Suspilne Kherson branch and was using it as a basis to create a propaganda channel.

The building of Suspilne's Kherson branch was captured by the Russian military as soon as they entered the city. They set up one of their headquarters there. The equipment was taken away, the offices were "turned upside down", military equipment was stacked in the branch's courtyard, reported Suspilne correspondents.