Putin 'war hero' behind Mariupol strikes killed in 'suicide bombing' in Russia
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One of Vladimir Putin's 'war heroes' – who was behind the deadly strikes on Mariupol in 2022 – has been killed by a 'suicide bomber' in Russia.
Zaur Aleksandrovich Gurtsiev died alongside another man in an explosion, which investigators said 'committed using a homemade device', in the city of Stavropol yesterday.
The 34-year-old had met the other man in a darkened street, near a row of parked cars.
Footage shows him walking towards the veteran just moments before the grenade is detonated.
After the blast, the footage seemingly shows Gurtsiev lying on the ground, while the second man is rocked back by the explosion.
Multiple reports from Russian news outlets linked to law enforcement have identified the second man identified as Nikita Penkov, 29.
Russian authorities have now opened a criminal case following the death of the two men. More Trending
Regional governor Vladimir Vladimirov said: 'All versions are being considered, including the organisation of a terrorist attack involving Nazis from Ukraine.'
Gurtsiev has been credited with leading the bombardment on the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, during which at least 22,000 civilians over three months.
Russia awarded Gurtziyev a medal for bravery over his role in the airstrikes, which Ukraine classified as a war crime.
In October 2024, Putin even named him First Deputy Head of Stavropol.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
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Last week, David Petraeus, a respected former US general and CIA chief, said Russia could launch an incursion into the Baltic state of Lithuania to test Western resolve, or as a precursor to a wider offensive. Zelensky claimed that this attack was one for the 'history books' From de-militarisation to re-militarisation During the Cold War, Gotland was home to thousands of soldiers as Stockholm took precautions in the face of a potential Soviet attack, despite Sweden's two-century-long policy of military neutrality. Defence analysts termed the island Sweden's 'unsinkable aircraft carrier', such was its strategic value. But in the post-Soviet era, with geopolitical tensions easing and defence budgets tightening, Stockholm began a gradual wind-down. By 2005, the island was almost entirely demilitarised - its garrisons decommissioned, equipment sold off and personnel withdrawn, save for a skeletal presence of Home Guard troops. 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New barracks and a medical facility were completed last year along with a mess hall, exercise and maintenance areas to support permanent troops and the training of new conscripts, whose number is increasing year on year. Maintenance facilities for tanks and armoured vehicles are almost complete, and construction has begun on a state-of-the-art logistics centre and agency office, set for completion next year. These developments will enable Gotland to function not just as a standalone garrison, but as a fully fledged forward operating base capable of hosting allied forces and acting as a central hub for the defence of the Baltics and NATO's Eastern flank. Lt. Gen. Edström acknowledged that a huge amount of work remains before Gotland can field a fully operable fighting force while also hosting allied troops, but said the island's regiment had been 'doing a really great job' in preparations thus far. 'I really love this regiment because the infrastructure is brand new, but it takes time... It takes time to build a new infrastructure. 'From that perspective, we have some constraints when it comes to how many soldiers we can take and host at one step,' he said. 'But I would say Gotland as an island has been used to host big international exercises for years - all the units that are working here are comfortable working together with allies already.' Russian designs on Gotland Moscow is well aware of Gotland's strategic importance. If the Kremlin were also to gain control of the island, it would leave Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania sandwiched between the Russian mainland to the East, Kaliningrad to the West and yet another strategic location to the North. Not only would this isolate the Baltic States from the rest of their NATO allies, it would dramatically enhance Russia's air and maritime capabilities in the Baltic Sea to threaten the Nordics and Western Europe. A Russian annexation of Gotland would also allow Moscow to reinforce and provide air cover to its forces should Putin decide to launch an attack on the Suwalki Gap. This 40-mile stretch of sparsely populated land along the borders of Poland and Lithuania has long been seen as one of NATO's strategic vulnerabilities and the only thing preventing Moscow from connecting Kaliningrad with satellite state Belarus. Prior to the launch of Gotland's remilitarisation programme, Russia conducted a widely condemned military drill which saw two Tu-22M3 nuclear bombers, along with an escort of Su-27 fighter jets, perform dummy bombing manoeuvres that brought their wings within just 24 miles of the island. Sweden's accession to NATO last year prompted alarm bells to ring in Moscow, with officials and analysts warning that Russia's forces could not allow a full remilitarisation of Gotland. Russia's Strategic Culture Foundation - a platform for defence and geopolitical analysis - last year claimed that Gotland would be the 'number one target' of Russian nuclear weapons in the event of a full-scale European war. 'Experts from the Russian Analytical Center for Strategic Nuclear Forces indicate that at the very beginning of such a conflict, Russian armed forces would launch a nuclear strike on Sweden in order to prevent NATO cruise missile strikes on ships of the Baltic and Northern Fleets,' the publication read. 'It would be better for Sweden to remain a neutral country and for the island of Gotland to remain a tourist mecca than to become the number one target for Russian nuclear missiles.' Russian military analyst and retired Navy Captain Vasily Dandykin also told Russian newswire Sputnik: 'The size of this island makes it possible to put aviation, airfields, and naval bases... (to serve) the dream of both NATO bloc and the Americans to turn the Baltic Sea into a NATO sea. We understand what kind of threat this is. 'In any case, more intensive [Russian] exercises will take place in the Baltic. We have to understand that Finland too is already a NATO member. Therefore, our actions will be adequate – both from Kaliningrad, where the Baltic Fleet is based, and from the rest of Russia.' Lt. Gen. Edström told reporters in Gotland: 'It's very important to understand that, although Russia is engaged in special operations that were war against Ukraine, they see themselves in a long-term conflict with the West. 'Even if the war in Ukraine - which I hope really soon will have a ceasefire or even a peace agreement - comes to an end, that doesn't mean that Russia will change their mind, they will stay in conflict with the West. 'That means that we can't take our eyes off Russia, for the foreseeable 10 or 15 years to come.' Sweden's total defence concept The rapid militarisation of Gotland is symptomatic of a wider push to prepare Sweden's armed forces and civil society for war. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said in January that Sweden was 'not at war... but there is not peace either', and urged Swedes to prepare themselves for every eventuality. This effort, known as 'Total Defence Duty', is laid out in stark terms by the government. 'From the year you turn 16 until the end of the year you turn 70, you are part of Sweden's total defence and required to serve in the event of war or the threat of war,' a statement on the Swedish government's crisis information portal reads. Lt. Gen. Edström told MailOnline that Sweden's military is already working closely with various public sector agencies and private companies to provide training and instruction to civilians. 'We are doing that all the time - that's ongoing work. We have divided Sweden into four military regions, plus Gotland as a fifth. These regions are working very closely with civil agencies, authorities, entities, and companies to strengthen the total defence concept. 'That means also sometimes to share plans between military and civilian units and do joint exercises. This is something we're working on closely at the moment - these are active efforts with real training, cooperation plans, and integration.' He later told reporters: 'We are building a resilient island that can take a hit and continue to work on the civilian as well as on the military side. 'That is our goal: to continue to grow the resilience of the Swedish society and the total defence concept, but also specifically for Gotland's capability to take a hit and continue to work.' As part of the total defence concept, the government has created the post of minister for civil defence to work alongside the armed forces minister, so civilians can be mobilised as well as the military. In November, Sweden's Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) distributed five million pamphlets to residents urging them to prepare for the possibility of war. The booklet named 'If Crisis or War Comes' contained information about how to prepare for emergencies such as war, natural disasters, cyber attacks and terrorism. The government is investing in improving the emergency services' capacity to operate during conflicts, strengthening cybersecurity and replenishing medicine stocks. And the MSB said last month it had begun a huge project to modernise the nation's nuclear shelters - a task it expected to take 'two to three years' - which includes efforts to upgrade filters which help protect occupants from chemical and radiological weapons. With 64,000 bunkers sites spread across the country, Sweden already has more shelters than almost every other nation with space for around seven million people - more than two-thirds of its population. The bunkers are designed to provide protection against shockwaves and bomb fragments, the blast and heatwaves from a nuclear weapon, radioactive fallout, gas from chemical weapons and biological weapons.
