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Russian Strategic Bomber Chief Reportedly Shot in Engels, Home to Tu
UNITED24 Media • • world
Key Points:
- A Russian Aerospace Forces officer, possibly Major General Nikolai Varpakhovich, commander of the 22nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Division, was seriously wounded in a shooting near Engels, a key strategic bomber base in Russia’s Saratov region.
- The assailant, riding a motorcycle and wearing a helmet, fired multiple shots at the officer, hitting him in the torso and face; the officer’s driver was also injured but escaped and called for medical help.
- Varpakhovich’s division operates long-range bombers, including Tu-95MS and Tu-160 aircraft, which have been used to launch cruise missile strikes on Ukraine, including a July 2024 attack on Kyiv’s Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital.
- The European Union has sanctioned Varpakhovich for his role in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, specifically linking him to missile strikes carried out from the Engels-2 base.
- Engels hosts a critical fleet of aging but modernized strategic bombers essential to Russia’s long-range missile capabilities, with production of these aircraft having ended in 1992, making replacements difficult.
