Murmansk Governor Andrei Chibis injured in knife attack

Governor Chibis was on his way out of a public assembly hall where he had met with locals when a man attacked him with a knife. He was injured in the stomach and quickly brought to the local hospital, Telegram channel Murmansk Inside reported.

The injury was not life-threatening, and Chibis on Friday morning made a statement where he thanked the hospital and underlined that he would return to his duties following his recovery. 

The attacker was quickly apprehended by an officer from the Russian National Guard (Rosgvardia). In a brawl between the two men, the attacker was shot in the leg.

According to Baza, the attacker was Aleksandr Bydanov, a 42 year old local man. Judging from his local social media page he is an employee at the Russian Railways. Nothing is so far known about his motives behind the attack.

Andrei Chibis regularly makes visits across the Kola Peninsula to meet with locals and fellow politicians. Footage from the meeting in Apatity shows that there was a significant number of people in the public meeting.

Andrei Chibis was appointed regional governor in 2019. He has positioned himself as an ardent supporter of the war against Ukraine and has on several occasions paid visit to occupied territories.