Russian general accused of masterminding attack on children’s hospital ‘shot in head’

A Russian general who was linked with an attack on a children’s hospital in Ukraine is seriously injured after being shot in the head, according to reports.Major General Nikolai Varpakhovich is said to have been shot on Thursday morning in the village of Probuzhdenie near Engels, in Russia’s Saratov region. Independent Russian outlet SotaVision said the attack was the third assassination attempt on Russian officers in the past two weeks. Russian online newspaper Mash reported that the shooter rode up to a private home on a motorcycle and fired one bullet in the torso and one in the face. The air force officer’s driver was also reportedly shot but was able to call an ambulance.Varpakhovich is believed to be in a critical condition in hospital, Mash reported. Major General Nikolai Varpakhovich is accused of orchestrating the bombing of a children’s hospital (Russian Ministry of Defense)Varpakhovich was first identified in Ukrainian media reports, according to independent outlet SotaVision. Kyiv believes he masterminded a missile strike on the Okhmatdet Children's Hospital in 2024 while serving as commander of the 22nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Division in Russia’s air force. The division is based in the Engels airfield, a large base that hosts Russia’s Tu-95 and Tu-160 strategic bombers and is frequently targeted by Ukrainian forces. Ukraine says a Tu-95MS bomber launched an Kh-101 cruise missile at the children’s hospital. At the time of the attack on the hospital, more than 600 patients were inside. Dozens were injured and two people were killed, including a doctor. The hospital’s toxicology building was destroyed and four other buildings where surgeries were performed on seriously ill children were damaged, local authorities said. Volunteers carry a sack with debris in Okhmatdyt, the biggest children's hospital in Ukraine, in Kyiv, on 12 July 2024 (AFP/Getty)“Russia definitely knows what its missiles are targeting and must be held fully accountable for all its crimes: against people, against children and against humanity in general,” Volodymyr Zelensky said at the time. “It is of paramount importance that the world does not remain silent about this and that everyone sees what Russia is and what it is doing."Shortly after the strike, the then-head of the Ukraine’s SBU security service Vasyl Malyuk said: "The security service will do everything possible to ensure that the enemy feels maximum retribution for each of its war crimes, including today's strike on Ukraine. “This retribution will be both legal and moral. A terrorist state is not an abstract concept. There are specific names of the murderers. And nothing will save them from justice.”The cruise missile slammed into the Okhmatdyt children's hospital in Kyiv leading the toxicology wing to collapse (AFP/Getty)On 31 August, the SBU and Prosecutor General’s office on notified the general in absentia of their suspicions of his responsibility behind the attack.“As the investigation established, on July 8, 2024, [Varpakhovich] gave a combat order to carry out a missile strike on the National Children's Specialized Hospital "Okhmatdyt" in Kyiv,” a statement posted on the SBU website said.It added that “comprehensive measures are underway to hold them accountable”.Kyiv and the SBU have not claimed any responsibility for the attack.