According to Russian sources, a high-ranking Russian general has been reported dead following a missile strike on a hotel in Berdyansk, a city located on Ukraine’s southern coast under Russian occupation.
The official confirmation of Lieutenant General Oleg Tsokov’s death has not been provided by Russia’s defense ministry. However, various Russian war channels on the Telegram messaging app widely circulated the news…..CONTINUE READING
Olga Skabeyeva, a television host on the state-run Rossiya-1 channel, stated that the reports of Lt Gen Tsokov’s death were being covered by “absolutely all media.” She claimed that he was killed by a Storm Shadow missile supplied by the UK.Andrei Gurulyov, a retired general and member of parliament, who appeared on Skabeyeva’s popular 60 Minutes show, mentioned that Lt Gen Tsokov had returned to Ukraine despite being seriously injured earlier in the conflict. Last September, he was wounded while commanding Russia’s 144th Motorized Infantry Division in the Svatove area of occupied eastern Ukraine.
The news of Lt Gen Tsokov’s death was also reported by several Russian war accounts on Telegram, including blogger WarGonzo and Military Informant, a channel with a significant following.As there has been no official comment from Moscow, military bloggers have served as an insightful source of information on the Russian side.
The reporter has not independently verified the reported death, which has also been highlighted by Ukrainian officials.According to reports, Lt Gen Tsokov was caught in a Ukrainian attack that targeted a hotel housing Russian military commanders in Berdyansk, a city located in the Zaporizhzhia region on the coast of the Azov Sea.Various images and videos from different parts of Berdyansk have circulated on social media, but none specifically show the blast site.
However, a photograph has been verified by BBC Verify, showing a column of smoke rising from the area where the Dune Hotel is situated.Local social media discussions in Russia mentioned that the strike occurred at 4:00 local time on July 11.While there is no confirmation that a Storm Shadow cruise missile was used, the UK government previously stated in May that it had donated an undisclosed number of these missiles to Ukraine.
The Storm Shadow missile has a range of over 150 miles (240 km), triple that of the missiles previously used by Kyiv, making it more effective for launching precision strikes.Ukraine has claimed previous attacks on Russia’s military commanders in Berdyansk, although there was initially some uncertainty regarding Lt Gen Tsokov’s presence there.
Russia’s defense ministry has not officially announced his promotion from the role of commander of the 144th Motorized Infantry Division in eastern Ukraine to deputy commander of Russia’s Southern Military District.The military district has a broader jurisdiction, covering areas in southern Russia as well as the occupied regions of Ukraine. The defense ministry has either been slow to disclose changes in command or has purposely refrained from announcing them altogether…..CONTINUE READING
