A Russian general accused of ordering a missile strike on a Ukrainian children’s hospital was shot outside his home by an assailant riding a motorcycle.
Major General Nikolai Varpakhovich, commander of the 22nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Division of the Russian Aerospace Forces, was reportedly shot at close range in the city of Engels, Saratov Oblast.
According to Radio Svoboda, the assailant arrived on a motorcycle and approached a property linked to the Russian military officer before firing several shots at close range. The attacker, who was reportedly wearing a helmet, fled immediately after the shooting.
While Russian officials have not formally identified the victim, several pro-war Telegram channels named Varpakhovich as the officer targeted in the attack.
The shooting unfolded in Engels, home to Russia’s principal strategic bomber base, where long-range aircraft central to the Kremlin’s nuclear deterrent are stationed.
Reports suggest the senior officer sustained life-threatening injuries.
Independent outlet SotaVision said Varpakhovich suffered gunshot wounds to the head and abdomen and remains in critical condition.
He is reportedly being transported to Moscow for treatment. A driver traveling in a military vehicle was also injured during the attack, according to the outlet.
The reported assassination attempt comes against the backdrop of longstanding accusations from Kyiv against Varpakhovich over Russian missile strikes in Ukraine.
Ukrainian authorities have alleged that the general helped direct the July 2024 attack on Kyiv’s Okhmatdyt children’s hospital, one of the most internationally condemned strikes of the war. Two people were killed and more than 30 were injured, including nine children, while parts of the hospital complex were destroyed.
Ukraine’s Health Ministry said 627 children were receiving treatment at the facility when it was hit.
In announcing charges against the Russian officer, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) alleged that he played a direct role in authorizing the attack.
“The investigation established that on July 8, 2024, the officer [Varpakhovich] issued a combat order to carry out a missile strike on the “Okhmatdyt” National Children’s Specialized Hospital in Kyiv,” a statement from the SBU said.
The agency added: “At the time of the attack, there were over 600 patients in the hospital. Two people were killed, including a doctor, and dozens more were injured. The missile completely destroyed the toxicology wing and damaged four other buildings where surgical operations were being performed, and children with cancer were being treated,” the SBU reported.
Varpakhovich has also been charged in absentia by Ukraine alongside four other Russian generals over a missile strike on Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelensky, in 2023. That attack killed eight people and injured three others.
If the reports are confirmed, the shooting would represent the latest in a series of attacks targeting figures connected to Russia’s military apparatus. A Russian serviceman was reportedly killed in a car bombing in St Petersburg on Aug. 27, while former Ukrainian submarine commander Captain 1st Rank Robert Shageev, who defected to Russia in 2014, was reported killed in an explosion in Sevastopol on August 13.
