A Russian military commander, identified by Russian media as Maj. Gen. Nikolay Varpakhovich, was shot and critically wounded near Engels, Russia. This incident occurred days after Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) accused him of ordering a deadly strike on a Kyiv children's hospital in July 2024.
The shooting of a high-ranking Russian commander, allegedly involved in a war crime against a children's hospital, raises questions about internal retribution or targeted attacks amid the ongoing conflict.
A Russian military commander, identified by Russian media as Maj. Gen. Nikolay Varpakhovich, was shot by an unknown assailant near Engels in Russia's Saratov Oblast on September 3, 2026. He was hospitalized in critical condition after being shot twice. The attack occurred just days after Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) announced it had handed Varpakhovich a notice of suspicion in absentia for his alleged involvement in a Russian missile strike on the Okhmatdyt children's hospital in Kyiv on July 8, 2024. The SBU stated that Varpakhovich gave the order for the strike, which was carried out by a Russian Tu-95MS strategic bomber. The attack on Ukraine's largest children's medical center resulted in the deaths of two adults and injuries to at least 34 people, including nine children, and caused significant damage to the hospital's oncology and surgery rooms. Over 600 patients were reportedly in the hospital at the time of the missile strike.