Maj. Gen. Nikolai Varpakhovich, commander of Russia's 22nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Division of Long-Range Aviation, was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt on the morning of September 3 in the village of Probuzhdeniye in the Saratov region, according to the Telegram channels Mash, Baza and Shot, as well as the security-services-linked channel Dossier of a Spy, which first named the victim.
The attacker approached on a motorcycle and fired two shots from a pistol — according to Shot, at a store from which the officer was emerging; other channels say it was outside his private home. One bullet struck Varpakhovich in the abdomen, another in the head. The officer's driver was also wounded but managed to flee and call an ambulance. The attacker escaped and has not been identified.
The Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case on charges of attempted murder of a serviceman, TASS reported. Varpakhovich is being prepared for transfer to Moscow; his condition is described as serious.
On August 31, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the prosecutor general's office announced they had charged Varpakhovich in absentia. Ukrainian investigators allege he gave the order for the missile strike on the Okhmatdyt children's hospital in Kyiv on July 8, 2024. More than 600 patients and roughly the same number of staff were in the hospital at the time of the attack; two people were killed.
Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) has named Varpakhovich among commanders responsible for strategic aviation missile strikes on Ukrainian cities. According to HUR, units of his division use Kh-22, Kh-32, Kh-101/102 and Kh-555 cruise missiles.