It has become known that an assassination attempt on the former first deputy chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the Zaporizhia region from the United Russia party Nikolai Pastushenko has been prevented. On June 16, Pastushenko himself discovered an improvised explosive device (IED) attached to the bottom of a Renault Kadjar car belonging to his daughter. The car was parked in a garage cooperative in the city of Dneprorudnoye. The incident highlights the ongoing tension in the region, where acts of sabotage have become more frequent amid the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

Explosives experts who examined the IED established that the device contained about 500 grams of explosive, presumably plastic explosive, wrapped in tape. There were no striking elements in the design. The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened a criminal case under Article 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Attempted terrorist act"), starting an investigation into the circumstances and a search for those involved. Pastushenko, who held the post of head of the military-civil administration of Dneprorudny from April 2022 to September 2023, and then worked as the first deputy chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the region until February 2025, was not injured. His daughter was also not in the car when the device was discovered.