Russian investigators open murder case over Elena Litvinenko’s death in Kherson region

Russia’s Investigative Committee said on October 10 that it had opened a murder case over the death of Elena Litvinenko in the Kherson region. Russian authorities say she was killed in a drone attack on October 8.

Russia’s Central Election Commission had previously identified Litvinenko as the chair of a local election commission in the Oleshky municipal district. The Investigative Committee also said she worked as a senior nurse at a local social services centre.

Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko said its Main Investigative Directorate had opened the case under Article 105 of the Russian Criminal Code. Investigators are examining the circumstances, conducting investigative procedures and forensic examinations, and interviewing witnesses.

The committee linked her death to a strike on a residential building in Nova Maiachka and attributed the attack to Ukraine. That attribution comes from Russian investigators. The supplied statements contain no independent verification of the circumstances of the strike.

The latest announcement concerns the opening of a criminal investigation. It provides no information about arrests or the identification of specific perpetrators.