Gunman on a motorcycle shoots the Russian air force general Ukraine says ordered the strike on Kyiv’s children’s hospital

On 3 September, a gunman on a motorcycle shot a Russian aerospace officer twice in Saratov Oblast, according to Radio Svoboda. The wounded, identified as Major General Nikolai Varpakhovich, commands Russia's heavy bomber division at Engels. Ukraine's security service and prosecutors had named Varpakhovich a suspect three days prior in connection with the missile strike on Kyiv's main children's hospital.

Russia's strikes have targeted hospitals, warehouses, railway infrastructure, residential neighborhoods, and the power system, with winter approaching and protection work lagging behind. The officers who plan and order the long-range strikes operate far from the effects, putting them at risk, primarily of Ukrainian civilians. Ukraine's services have pursued senior Russian officers in the rear, with some unofficially claiming the operation and others remaining silent.

Bombings have killed at least three generals near Moscow since December 2024, with a fourth dying in a Moscow restaurant blast, whose target Russia has not disclosed. The Engels shooting has not yet been claimed, and Ukrainian officials have not commented on it. Two shots were fired outside Engels, and the attacker fled on a motorcycle.

The officer's driver was also hit, managed to escape, and called an ambulance. The attacker wore a helmet and fled the scene. Russian forensic experts identified over 30 parts of a Russian Kh-101 missile that hit Okhmatdyt hospital, and the regional branch of Russia's Investigative Committee stated that someone attempted to kill a serviceman, leading to a case for attempted murder and illegal weapons trafficking.

The victim's name was not disclosed. The Telegram channel Dosye Shpiona, possibly linked to Ukrainian special services, named the victim as Nikolai Varpakhovich, the commander of the 22nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Division of Russia's long-range aviation.