Top Russian commander ‘who led deadly missile strikes on Ukrainian civilians’ gunned down in suspected assassination bid
A TOP Russian commander has been shot near his home in what is believed to have been a Ukrainian assassination attempt.
Major Oleg Stegachyov, 40, is still alive and Russia have dubbed the shooting a "terrorist act".
Kyiv intelligence sources said Major Oleg Stegachyov, 40, “was directly involved in missile attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine and the killing of our people”.
The commander worked with Tu-95 strategic bombers - used by Russia constantly over the last two years to blitz Ukraine.
The GUR Ukrainian military intelligence agency said: "The Russian commander of the crew of the Tu-95 strategic bomber received gunshot wounds.
"Whether he survived or not is being clarified by the intelligence service."
His condition is not entirely clear following the shooting, which happened near the Engels-2 airbase in the Saratov region, western Russia.
The shooting comes after Molfar, a Ukrainian open source intelligence group, revealed the personal details of 75 Russian military personnel at Engels-2 airbase.
Stegachyov was on the list.
Ukrainian sources say he was also responsible for bombing raids in Syria.
InformNapalm - a Ukrainian channel - wrote: “For almost two years, Russian aviation has been participating in shelling of Ukraine, launching deadly missiles at civilian targets.
“For almost two years they were not afraid that they would be caught in the rear, but everything is changing.
“They are starting to get pestered because it's easier to kill the pilot than to wait for him to launch the missiles.
“Thanks to GUR for starting to work in this direction.
“Better late than never.”
A Russian pro-war channel FighterBomber claimed Stegachyov had retired and said the shooting may have been unrelated to Ukraine.
Just days ago Putin reminded many of how paranoid he himself is about assassination attempts.
While giving a speech to allies and friends in Russia, he surrounded himself with bodyguards on high alert.
The cronies flanking him as he gave a speech were clutching briefcases which held bulletproof shields.
