Top general in Putin’s forces ‘killed in missile strike’

Major General Sergei Goryachev, 52, is reported to be killed in a missile strike on 12 June 2023  - Courtesy

MOSCOW, Russia

A Russian general leading troops in southern Ukraine has been killed in a missile strike, a pro-Russian military blogger has claimed.

One of the most prominent Russian bloggers, Voenkor Kotenok, said that the senior Russian officer was killed as troops of Russia’s Fifth Army were forced to leave Makarivka in southern Donetsk, where Ukraine has liberated a number of villages in their counteroffensive.

With 423,000 subscribers, the blogger said in a Telegram post that “as a result of an enemy missile attack, the Chief of Staff of the 35th Combined Arms Army, Major General Sergei Goryachev, was killed.”

Meanwhile, Russia launched a “massive” attack overnight on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, killing at least six people and wounding 25 others.

“Unfortunately, there are already six dead. The rescue operation continues,” city mayor Oleksandr Vilkul said on the Telegram messaging app.

At least 10 out of 14 cruise missiles and one out of four Iranian-made drones fired by Russia were downed by Ukraine’s air forces, the country’s top military command said.