Gennady Matsegora, the former Mayor of the Ukrainian city of Kupyansk, was pronounced dead in a Russian hospital on June 10, days after he was shot at his safe house.
Knewz.com has learned that the former Mayor was facing treason charges in Kyiv for entering into a "voluntary cooperation with the Russian occupiers" in 2022.
Matsegora's death was announced by his wife on social media, whereupon numerous Russian media outlets shared her post.
"Yesterday, May 10, 2024, Gennady passed away. Beloved son, husband, and father…. Gena lived all his life for people, rarely thought about himself… I don’t know how to live with this, my heart bleeds," she wrote in her post, per Ukrainian news outlet UNN.
"Let the Apostle Peter take you under his wing and keep your soul in peace. And we, your family, will live and remember you and your righteous deeds. Rest in peace."
The Ukrainian Military Intelligence announced on Friday, June 7, that the assassination was carried out against "Traitor of Ukraine" Matsegora at his safe house in the Russian city of Stary Oskol in the Belgorod region.
The Main Directorate of Intelligence announced the assassination attempt on Telegram:
"Kupyan mayor-collaborator Gennady Matsegora is in critical condition. On June 7, 2024, in the city of Stary Oskol in Russia, an attempt was made on the traitor of Ukraine Hennadiy Matsehora, who held the position of mayor of Kupyansk, Kharkiv Region."
"Matsegora voluntarily agreed to fully cooperate with the Russian invaders."
He was rushed to the hospital in critical condition after the shooting, but he never regained consciousness and passed away a few days later.
The former Mayor of Kupyansk, a Ukrainian city in the war-torn Kharkiv Oblast, was branded a traitor after he entered an agreement of voluntary cooperation with Vladimir Putin's forces shortly after the beginning of the Ukraine war and reportedly willingly gave up the city to Russian invaders.
The move also established him as a Putin puppet in the eyes of the Ukrainian populace. In June 2022, Matsegora publicly announced the signing of a document on the creation of the occupation administration of Kharkiv.
The news outlet Orange TV published a video on YouTube shared by the former Mayor back in February 2022, within days of the invasion, where he told the general public that he had accepted to take part in negotiations with Russian forces.
"Today at 7:30 a.m. the commander of a Russian battalion called to propose negotiations. If declined, the city would be stormed 'with all the consequences.' I decided to take part in the talks to avoid casualties and destruction in the city," Matsegora said in his statement, per Ukrainska Pravda.
"We discussed the actions of the military, which would include entering the city, ensuring order, and reassuring residents. They convinced me that this would not affect the life of the city; schools, kindergartens, hospitals, grocery stores, and transportation would continue to run and there will be order in the city."
The Mayor also alleged that Kupyansk was abandoned by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the prosecutor's office, the military registration and enlistment office, and the terrorist defense detachment as soon as the Russian invasion commenced.
On the other hand, The Guardian reported that the Ukrainian Mayor "allegedly provided Russian soldiers with transportation, housing, fuel and food." He went on to become one of the many Ukrainian citizens who were accused of treason and collaborating with Russian forces.
Ukrainian forces subsequently took back the occupied city in September 2022, following which Matsegora fled the country to seek shelter in Belgorod. According to the Main Directorate of Intelligence, "the Moscow masters placed a heavy security guard in Matsegora, which, however, did not spare the collaborating mayor."