A retired Russian commander who was behind strikes that claimed the lives of 8,000 Ukrainian people has been killed by a ‘suicide bomber’, it has been revealed.
Zaur Gurtsiev, 34, who received several medals for participating in Russia’s attacks on Mariupol, was killed alongside another unnamed man in a blast on Thursday in southern Russia, Russia’s Investigative Committee said.
Gurtsiev was a city official who was due to be appointed to Stavropol's regional administration before he was killed. His death comes following a string of attacks on high-profile Russian servicemen.
Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes serious crimes, said the bodies of two men with multiple injuries had been discovered on Thursday outside a multi-storey building and that criminal cases investigating murder and the illegal possession of explosives had been opened.
Stavropol Region Governor Vladimir Vladimirov and other officials offered their condolences to Gurtsiev and his family.
Video footage published on social media showed two men standing close to some parked cars and a bench when a bright light filled the screen and the footage cut out.
Russian authorities have now opened a criminal case following the death of the two men. They did not say what caused the blast, but did not rule out the possibility of Ukraine’s involvement.
Local reports have also suggested that it was a suicide blast attack, possibly involving a grenade.
In recent months, Moscow has seen the deaths of high-ranking Russian military officials in separate explosions.
In December, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of the Russian military's biological and chemical weapons unit, was killed alongside his deputy in an explosion.
More recently, in the past month, another blast in the capital claimed the life of General-Lieutenant Yaroslav Moskalik.
It comes after Britain gave its backing to Germany over letting Ukraine fire weapons deep into Russia to combat Vladimir Putin’s attacks.
Germany’s new Chancellor said on Monday that his country and other major allies are no longer imposing any range restrictions on weapons supplied to Ukraine as it fights the Russian invasion.
Friedrich Merz stressed that “there are no longer any range restrictions for weapons that have been delivered to Ukraine - neither by the British, nor by the French, nor by us, and not by the Americans either”.
He added: “That means Ukraine can also defend itself by, for example, attacking military positions in Russia.”
Britain has since at least last autumn allowed Kyiv to fire UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles into Russia to thwart attacks by Putin’s military.
Downing Street backed Germany not putting restrictions on the use of its weapons.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “We have always said it’s up to the government of Ukraine when it comes to operational decisions around its weapon systems.
“But the Prime Minister has always been clear that we would provide Ukraine with the support it needs for as long as is needed.
“We have long supported other countries providing long-range fires...”
