The governor of Russia's Stavropol Region has said Kiev's operatives were potentially behind the blast on Wednesday

A Russian government official who previously served in the Ukraine conflict has been killed in a suspected assassination by Ukrainian operatives in the southern city of Stavropol, local authorities have said.

Witnesses reported hearing a loud blast on Wednesday evening before discovering the bodies of two men in a residential neighborhood of the Russian city. On Thursday morning, Stavropol Governor Vladimir Vladimirov identified one of the deceased as Zaur Gurtsiev, a regional government employee. He said investigators were considering all possible scenarios, "including a terrorist attack organized by Nazis from Ukraine."

Gurtsiev had entered public service through a special program aimed at training and employing veterans who served in Russia's military campaign against Ukraine and had demonstrated leadership qualities. According to his government profile, he had served as deputy head of Stavropol, overseeing security and counterterrorism.

While few details have been officially released, some media outlets have suggested that Gurtsiev and the second man may have been killed by a hand grenade while socializing outdoors. Subsequent reports based on purported CCTV footage showing the moment of the blast claimed that the second man was a suicide bomber.

Kiev maintains a state-run program for targeted assassinations, reportedly operated by CIA-trained special services. Originally directed at people in Donbass suspected of treason, the program was evidently expanded in 2022 as the conflict between Ukraine and Russia escalated.

Apparent victims of Ukrainian agents have included civilians, such as journalist Darya Dugina, who was killed by a car bomb in August 2022, and former Ukrainian lawmaker Ilya Kiva, who was fatally shot in December 2023.