Two top Russian officers were amongst the eight senior officers obliterated by a UK-supplied Storm Shadow missile in Russia’s Kursk region.
Lieutenant-Colonel Valery Tereshchenko, chief of communications of the elite 76th Pskov Airborne Division was in command of the bunker when it was destroyed by Ukrainian forceson December 30
Seven others were killed, including Colonel Pavel Maletsky, 39, commander of 656th separate engineer-sapper battalion in the strike which injured 22.
The deaths are yet to be confirmed by the Kremlin, but the Russian Officers’ Ice Hockey League announced ‘with bitterness and sorrow in our hearts’ that Tereshchenko died in the Lgov missile strike.
A friend confirmed the death of Maletsky in the strike.
Ukrainian journalist Yuriy Butusov said the strike hit the intended target in Lgov ahead of the New Year.
“A fire has started. The guys are all in the bunker; there are a lot of people,” said the commentary on one video.
Kursk’s acting governor Alexander Khinstein had also reported shelling in Lgov.
Elsewhere, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed Russia‘s use of North Korean soldiers in the region in his nightly address last night.
He said: “Specifically, in battles today and yesterday near just one village – Makhnovka in the Kursk region – the Russian army lost up to a battalion of infantry, including North Korean soldiers and Russian paratroopers. And that’s tangible.”
A battalion typically consists of several hundred forces, often bolstered by specialists such as artillery, medics and engineers.
Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Centre for Countering Disinformation said: “The Russians in Kursk are experiencing great anxiety because they were attacked from several directions and it came as a surprise to them. The defence forces are working.”
Mr Yermak commented: “Russia is getting what it deserves.”