Russian long-range bomber commander shot in attack

In Russia, a gunman on a motorcycle attacked Major General Alexander Varpakhovich, commander of the 2nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Division based at Engels-2. The attacker fired two shots — one to the face and one to the abdomen, according to the Telegram channel Mash.

According to the Telegram channel "Spy Dossier," the general is in critical condition. The officer's driver was also injured — he managed to flee and hide, then returned to call an ambulance. The attacker has not yet been apprehended, and no one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Mash reports that doctors managed to remove the bullets from the general's body at the hospital, and he is now being prepared for a special flight to Moscow. The attack came just days after a car bomb killed Dmitry Nezhelov, deputy head of the "Olenivka" camp in the occupied Donetsk region, who had been accused of torturing captured Ukrainian soldiers and civilians.

War crimes accusations

Varpakhovich has previously been repeatedly accused in Ukraine of war crimes linked to the Russian invasion. According to Ukraine's Security Service (SBU), it was he who, in July 2024, ordered the strike on the Okhmatdyt children's hospital in Kyiv — an attack that killed two people and wounded dozens more.

According to the Ukrainian military outlet Militarnyi, Varpakhovich is also believed to be responsible for the strike on a residential building in Odesa in April 2022, which killed eight people. The division under his command is based at the Engels-2 airfield near the city of Engels, home to Tu-95MS and Tu-160 strategic bombers, which Russia regularly uses to launch cruise missiles at Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.

Source: novinky.cz