Russian general who ‘ordered attack on children’s hospital’ shot in head
A Russian general suspected by Kyiv of orchestrating a 2024 attack on a children's hospital was reportedly shot in the head on Thursday.
Maj Gen Nikolai Varpakhovich was shot twice by an unknown assailant on a motorbike in a village in south-western Russia, according to Telegram channels with connections to Russian security services.
Moscow confirmed a Russian serviceman was admitted to hospital in Engels without providing further information.
Tass, Russia's state-owned news agency, did not name the general but reported that the country's Investigative Committee had opened an inquiry into an attempt on the life of a military service member.
Maj Gen Varpakhovich is the commander of the 22nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Division of the Russian aerospace forces.
Engels is home to a Russian air base that the Kremlin has used to launch long-range missiles towards Ukraine.
It has been the target of several Ukrainian drone attacks since the start of the war in 2022. Ukrainian media reported in 2024 that Major Oleg Stegachev, a crew commander at the base, had been shot in an apparent assassination attempt. His fate remains unclear.
Maj Gen Varpakhovich had been accused of directing a deadly attack on the Okhmatdyt hospital in Kyiv on July 8 2024.
A Russian missile strike partially destroyed Kyiv's Okhmatdyt children's hospital in Kyiv in July 2024 - Emre Caylak
Most of the 600 people inside Ukraine's largest children's hospital were evacuated when an air raid alarm sounded shortly before the attack.
But some patients were unable to leave because they were in surgery at the time.
The strike killed three people, including a child and a doctor. Dozens more were injured.
Sir Keir Starmer, who was prime minister at the time, described the attack as "the most depraved of actions".
In the wake of the assault – part of a barrage of Russian strikes that killed 37 people across the country – Volodymyr Zelensky , the Ukrainian president, called on allies to do more to "stop the terror".
"It is necessary to shoot down Russian missiles. It is necessary to destroy Russian combat aircraft where they are based. It is necessary to take strong steps that will not leave any security deficit," he said.
Three people died and dozens were injured in the air strike on the children's hospital - Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
In December that year, the EU announced sanctions against Maj Gen Varpakhovich and several members of his division, citing the hospital attack.
But this week, Ukraine's security service (SSU) charged him in absentia with "war crimes resulting in loss of life" over his alleged role in the hospital attack.
An investigation by the SSU found he "gave a combat order" for the attack, according to a statement on the agency's website on Monday.
"Then, long-range aviation units subordinate to Varpakhovych launched a targeted strike on the medical facility with an air-to-ground Kh-101 cruise missile, launched from a Russian Tu-95MS bomber," it said.
As with previous apparent assassinations of high-ranking Russian military targets, Ukraine has not acknowledged responsibility for the shooting.
But after the 2024 attempt on Major Stegachev's life Ukraine's military intelligence service warned that "retribution" awaited war criminals, saying it knew their "names, addresses, car numbers, usual routes and habits".
