RUSSIA, ENGELS, Sep. 3 — An unidentified man on a motorcycle opened fire on a Russian major general in the Probuzhdenie settlement in the Saratov oblast. The officer was hospitalized in serious condition, said Astra, an independent Russian Telegram channel.

Citing a Russian Telegram channel, Astra identified the injured officer as Nikolai Varpakhovich, the commander of the 22nd Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Division of the Russian Aerospace Forces. This information has not been officially confirmed.

On Aug. 31, the Security Service of Ukraine, also known as SBU, and the Office of the Prosecutor General notified Varpakhovich of the allegations in absentia. Investigators believe he was involved in the missile strike on the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv on Jul. 8, 2024. 

According to Ukrainian investigators, Varpakhovich’s subordinates in the long-range aviation unit launched an X-101 cruise missile at the hospital from a Tu-95MS missile-carrying aircraft.

Astra, citing other Russian Telegram channels, said that the attacker approached Varpakhovich as he was leaving a shop in Probuzhdenie settlement. The attacker  shot the officer twice, with one bullet striking him in the stomach and another in the face. Varpakhovich was taken to a hospital in Saratov. The attacker fled the scene.

The Investigative Committee of Russia has opened a criminal case regarding an attempted murder of a military, Astra said.

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