Russian general seriously wounded in assassination attempt, linked by Kyiv to strike on children's hospital

A senior Russian military officer was shot in an apparent assassination attempt on the morning of September 3 in Russia's Saratov region, according to Telegram channels Mash, Baza, and Shot, which have ties to Russia's security services.

The attacker approached on a motorcycle near a private house in the village of Probuzhdenie, close to the city of Engels. According to Shot, the officer had just left a store when he was attacked. The assailant fired two pistol shots and fled the scene. One bullet hit the victim in the abdomen and the other in the head; both were removed by doctors at the hospital. The officer is now being prepared for transport to Moscow. His driver was also wounded but managed to escape and call for an ambulance.

Russia's Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case over the attempted murder, state news agency TASS reported.

The Telegram channel Dosye Shpiona identified the victim as Major General Nikolai Varpakhovich, commander of the 22nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Division within Russia's long-range aviation branch. This has not been officially confirmed.

Link to the Okhmatdyt hospital strike

On August 31, Ukraine's Security Service and Prosecutor General's Office announced they had named Varpakhovich a suspect in absentia, accusing him of personally ordering the July 8, 2024 missile strike on Kyiv's Okhmatdyt children's hospital. At the time, the hospital held more than 600 patients and roughly as many staff members. Two people were killed in that attack.