Shot Jewish Mayor of Kharkov Regains Consciousness

The Jewish Ukrainian mayor of Kharkov, who was shot Monday in an assassination attempt, is conscious and recovering.

Maariv reports Mayor Gennady Kernes, who is recovering in a hospital in Haifa, has regained consciousness after a series of surgeries to save his life.

The mayor was shot in the back April 28 while jogging. He was first treated at a local hospital in Ukraine, and then flown to Israel for surgery.

Kharkiv municipal spokesperson Yuri Sidornko said Cairns’ son was by the mayor’s side at the hospital and sent an SMS stating, “We are conscious.”

Ukraine police are investigating the circumstances around the assassination attempt, including Kernes private business matters, decision-making surrounding Kharkiv and the mayor’s declining support of the pro-Russian movement in eastern Ukraine as reasons for the shooting.