Russian commander who led Mariupol bombing killed in ‘suicide attack'
The Russian commander who led a bombing campaign against the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol has been killed in an apparent suicide blast attack.
Zaur Gurtsiev, 34, a decorated former major, was blown up on Thursday in Stavropol in southern Russia, authorities said.
Gurtsiev received several medals and honours for commanding Russia's bombardment of Mariupol during a brutal siege in the early months of the full-scale invasion that killed up to 8,000 civilians.
Russian authorities did not say what caused the explosion, but local reports suggested that it was a suicide blast attack, possibly involving a grenade or sticks of TNT. A 29-year-old man who approached Gurtsiev just before the explosion died alongside him.
The possible assassination comes amid a volley of tit-for-tat accusations between Kyiv and Moscow on Thursday over the stalling of peace negotiations, while Russia continues to capture more ground in Ukraine's war-shattered east.
In CCTV footage of the blast on Thursday, the other man is seen on his phone, waiting until the former commander arrived. As they walked towards each other, an explosion went off between them, killing them instantly.
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