A RUSSIAN general in charge of Vladimir Putin’s nuclear bomber fleet is fighting for his life after reportedly being shot in the face and stomach.
Major General Nikolai Varpakhovich, 56, commander of Russia‘s 22nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Division, is said to be in a “critical condition” after the suspected Ukrainian assassination bid.
Varpakhovich was gunned down with a pistol in the village of Probuzhdeniye, in Engels district, according to local reports.
A lone shooter is believed to have rushed the war chief as he left his home and fired two shots.
The suspect quickly fled the scene on a motorcycle as a helmet covered his identity.
A severely injured Varpakhovich was immediately rushed to hospital for life-saving surgery to remove the bullets, say Russian reports.
He was then reportedly escorted to Moscow on a medical evacuation flight for further treatment.
Varpakhovich’s personal driver was also injured in the shooting but managed to escape, reports Mash.
No one has claimed responsibility for the brazen attack.
Varpakhovich has been accused of war crimes during the Ukraine war on several occasions.
Ukraine’s SBU security service claimed Varpakhovich ordered a deadly strike on Kyiv’s Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in July 2024.
Two people were killed and dozens wounded in the heinous attack on civilians.
He was also blamed for an April 2022 strike on an Odesa apartment block, which killed eight people.
Varpakhovich’s official job title within the Russian military is the commander of the 22nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Division of the Long-Range Aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces.
He oversees the Engels-2-based division stationed at the airbase in the city.
The base is home to deadly weapons such as the Tu-95MS and Tu-160 strategic bombers that Russia has repeatedly used to launch cruise missiles at Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.
It comes just days after a torturer of Ukrainian prisoners of war was blown up in a suspected car bomb attack.
Dmitry Neyelov, deputy of the Olenivka camp in occupied Donetsk, is said to have tortured, beat and humiliated captured troops and civilians before his grisly death.
Reports suggested a bomb planted under the car exploded as Neyelov, 44, was getting into it.
