A Russian general who was accused of orchestrating an attack on a Ukrainian children’s hospital was shot in the head on Thursday, according to reports.
Moscow confirmed the Russian Investigative Committee opened an investigation into a military service member admitted to a hospital to in Engels.
Although the man was not officially named, the service member was identified as Major General Nikolai Varpakhovich by Russian Telegram channels.
Maj Gen Varpakhovich, who leads the 22nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Division of the Russian Aerospace Forces’ Long-Range Aviation, was previously accused of plotting a deadly attack on the Okhmatdyt Hospital in Kyiv on July 8, 2024.
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The Russian strike killed three people, including a child and a doctor as some patients were unable to evacuate Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital.
Then-Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer labelled the attack the “most depraved of actions”.
Volodymyr Zelensky later alluded to the attack during his daily address.
“There will also be our asymmetric operations in response to this Russian tactic,” he said.
“Wherever Russian criminals hide, they will be found, and today there is further confirmation of this fact, a confirmation in Saratov region.”
Engels is used as the home base of Russia’s strategic bombers fleet, including Tu-95MS and Tu-160 aircraft used to fire long-range cruise missiles.
After the 2024 attack, Mr Zelensky urged allies to do more to “stop the terror” – later that year, the EU announced sanctions against Maj Gen Varpakhovich and several members of his unit.
The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, which kicked off in 2022, has long seemed unlikely to end.
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Donald Trump told GB News he “just wants to see” the war end in an exclusive wide-ranging interview with Bev Turner.
The President said the invasion had resulted in the deaths of “25,000 people every month”, most of whom were soldiers.
“You know, I ended eight wars. Eight different wars,” he added.
“Of the eight, four of them were supposed to be much more difficult than this one. I thought this would be the easiest.”
The wars Mr Trump has claimed to end include conflicts between Israel and Hamas, the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, Pakistan and India, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Thailand and Cambodia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Egypt and Ethiopia, and Serbia and Kosovo.
Mr Zelensky said there would soon be a “very important” meeting with US negotiators to find a resolution to the conflict.
Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, said he was “grateful to everyone attempting to contribute to a settlement” on Thursday as he admitted there was a “chance” the sides could come to a peace agreement.
Kviy and Moscow have continued to exchange strikes – around 3am, an oil depot was set on fire in Sochi, authorities in the Krasnodar region said.
And on Thursday, a Russian attack on Kyiv caused a fire and badly damaged a high-rise residential building, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
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