The surrender of Kherson, hundreds of millions, and a car: what led to the suicide of the former head of the Kherson region, Gennadiy Laguta

The death of the former head of the Kherson Regional State Administration, Gennadiy Laguta, immediately drew attention.

Soon after the news of his death emerged, there were rumors that Laguta had actually taken his own life, and later, these rumors were officially confirmed.

Laguta led the Kherson region during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and was likely knowledgeable about the details of how both the region and Kherson itself were captured. He might have had insights into why the Russians were able to achieve this so quickly and the role played by the country’s military and political leadership.

Additionally, Laguta was associated with the mayor of Kherson, Igor Kolyhaev, who led the city for several months after its capture. Some commentators noted that the news of Laguta’s death coincided almost simultaneously with reports of Mayor Kolyhaev appearing on the list of detainees in Russia after over a year of uncertainty about his fate.

In any case, Laguta’s death immediately sparked speculation that it might not have been accidental.

Laguta served as the head of the Kherson RSA from October 2021 to July 2022. Initially, the regional authorities reported his death without specifying the cause.

Later, Sergey Khlan, a deputy of the Kherson Regional Council, stated that Laguta took his own life by ingesting a large dose of pills. He noted that the former regional head had been burdened by accusations of “betraying Kherson,” although Khlan considered these accusations baseless. In a comment to “Radio NV,” the deputy clarified that the crucial factor leading to Laguta’s suicide was the case involving fraud related to Kolyhaev’s wife’s car, which had been opened against the former regional head.

According to Khlan’s version, Laguta received the car from the mayor as a gift after Kolyhaev’s successful campaign to become a member of parliament. However, after stepping down from his post as the head of the regional military administration, Laguta attempted to transfer the car into his name. At that point, Kolyhaev’s wife had already filed a complaint with the Security Service of Ukraine, alleging an attempt to take possession of her vehicle.

The official statement from the security services stated that Laguta “appropriated a car provided to him for temporary use during the full-scale invasion.” In July 2022, while Laguta was absent from Ukraine, the former official obtained a power of attorney for the vehicle from a notary, sold it to a subordinate, and subsequently repurchased it from the same person.

According to the investigation, the “notarial power of attorney” contained a forged signature of the owner. Criminal proceedings were initiated under Article 358, Part 3, “Forgery of documents, seals, stamps, and forms, sale or use of forged documents, seals, stamps, and forms,” and Article 190, Part 4, “Fraud.”

The Kiev police’s press service has already provided details about the death of the former head of the regional military administration. Laguta’s wife reported her missing husband on September 13, and a few days later, his lifeless body was found near garages in the Solomensky district of Kiev.

This differs from Khlan’s version, in which Laguta was allegedly still alive at the time of discovery. Empty medicine containers and a water bottle were found nearby, and he was reported to have passed away later in the hospital. The deputy also specified that, according to his information, security camera footage showed Laguta purchasing a large quantity of pills at a pharmacy.

Criminal proceedings were initiated under the article “Intentional Homicide,” with the additional qualification of “suicide,” according to the police.

However, what some have noticed is that the same day the news of Laguta’s death broke, there was a report that Mayor Kolyhaev of Kherson had appeared on Russian lists of detainees.

This information was disclosed by Kolyhaev’s son, Svyatoslav, to “Suspilne” (Public) when the news of Laguta’s death was widely circulated on September 17. Kolyhaev’s official status as a detainee, according to his son, was confirmed on September 13 (the same day when Laguta’s wife went to the police).

Among those looking for a connection between the two events is the well-known Kherson journalist and volunteer Konstantin Ryzhenko.

“Two pieces of news. Igor Kolyhaev, after more than a year of being with the Russians, was officially recognized as a prisoner of war. This means that he can now be exchanged, and competent authorities can ask questions about his activities during the occupation of Kherson. The second piece of news: Gennadiy Laguta, whom Kolyhaev appointed as the head of the Kherson regional military administration for a significant sum and who could have provided a lot of testimony about Kolyhaev (he signed financial documents during the occupation), suddenly passed away. In other words, he won’t be able to provide testimony about Igor,” Ryzhenko wrote.

The journalist vehemently opposes Deputy Khlan’s version that Laguta acted decisively in the early days of the war.

“He didn’t show up for exactly 50 days, didn’t communicate with anyone, no one knew where he was. Then he claimed to have taken charge of a partisan unit,” Ryzhenko wrote.

At the same time, according to the journalist, in the first few weeks after the capture of the city, Laguta signed documents for the transfer of “hundreds of millions of hryvnias that disappeared somewhere” to Kolyhaev.

It should be recalled that Igor Kolyhaev explained his presence in Kherson during his captivity by the Russians as a necessity to take care of the city’s economy and its residents.

If the mayor of Kherson returns to Ukraine as a result of another exchange between Kiev and Moscow or some other agreement, someone will likely view this as confirmation that Laguta’s death paved the way for his return.