22 June 2023

Top Russian general killed in Ukraine missile strike

Mike Glenn 

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting with Russian war correspondents who cover a special military operation, at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, June 13, 2023. 

British officials have confirmed that a top Russian general died in a Ukrainian missile strike this week during Kyiv’s counteroffensive against occupying forces.

Maj. Gen. Sergei Goryachev was “almost certainly” killed Monday in the attack on a Russian command post in southern Ukraine. He is the first Russian general killed in combat in Ukraine this year, British military officials said Friday.

At the time of the attack, Gen. Goryachev was the chief of staff of Russia’s 35th Combined Arms Army.

In their latest assessment of the battlefield in Ukraine, British military intelligence officials said there was a “realistic possibility” that Gen. Goryachev was acting commander at the time. Lt. Gen. Alexandr Sanchik, who has been appointed commander of the 35th CAA, is reportedly filling a temporary leadership position at higher headquarters.

The 35th CAA has a war record that is “both difficult and controversial,” British officials said on Twitter. Russian soldiers assigned to the unit were present during the March 2022 massacre of Ukrainian civilians in Bucha. In June 2022, the 35th CAA was routed during the battle of Izyum. Ukrainian officials said their troops “almost completely annihilated” the force.

Analysts said that remnants of the 35th CAA were sent to help defend occupied territory in the Kherson region along the West Bank of the Dnieper River.

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