Major General Nikolai Varpakhovich, a Russian nuclear bomber commander, was shot in the head and torso in a suspected assassination attempt Thursday outside his home in Saratov, Russia. Varpakhovich, 56, was reportedly attacked by an individual on a motorbike. The commander was left in critical condition and transported to Moscow via medical evacuation flight.
Ukrainian security services have accused Varpakhovich of multiple atrocities during the ongoing conflict, including ordering an airstrike on a children's hospital in Kyiv on July 8, 2024, which allegedly resulted in two deaths and dozens of injuries. He is also blamed for an April 28 attack on Uman that killed 24 people and a strike on an apartment block in Odesa that claimed eight lives, including an infant, a mother, and a grandmother.
Varpakhovich, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, commands Russia's 22nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Division from the Engels airbase, overseeing the country's nuclear-capable strategic bombers. He was officially named by Ukraine's SBU security service in late August as one of two Russian commanders accused of war crimes.
Russian security services have not identified a suspect in the shooting, which follows another violent incident on Aug. 27 where a Russian Air Force lieutenant colonel was killed when the car he was in exploded in St. Petersburg. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the assassination attempt on Varpakhovich, but Ukrainian security forces have demonstrated capabilities operating within Russian territory.