‘People are being systematically wiped out.’ The mayor of Dnipro stated that his deputy was ‘killed by law enforcement

The mayor of Dnipro, Borys Filatov, has claimed that his late deputy, Mykhailo Lysenko, was “effectively killed by so-called law enforcement officers through their endless harassment, searches, and persecution.”

Filatov made this statement in a video address posted on his Facebook page today.

Lysenko passed away from a heart attack on October 6, and his funeral took place today. He had been facing criminal charges, including allegations of embezzling 29.5 million hryvnias (652,000 euros) of budget funds during the renovation of a new bridge in Dnipro.

Filatov stated that an “unprecedented campaign to destroy local self-government” has been launched against Dnipro’s city council. He mentioned that dozens of criminal cases have been opened, hundreds of searches conducted, and numerous arrests made. Filatov sees this as a coordinated political attack on the city authorities and accused law enforcement of fabricating evidence, falsifying expert analyses, and conducting searches without court orders.

“I don’t know the reasons. It could be an order, preparations for elections, or a desire for profit. Or maybe, I don’t know, this is part of a Russian scenario. The front is moving closer to Dnipro, and the people who should and can take action are being systematically harassed and eliminated,” Filatov concluded.