Top Putin commander killed in Moscow restaurant blast is identified after secretive burial as Vlad loses another general

A SECRET burial has been held for a top Russian commander killed in the weekend Moscow bomb blast at an elite restaurant, reports say. The high-security ceremony for Lt-Gen Igor Yerusalimov, 53, took place at Troekurovskoye cemetery. Lieutenant-General Igor Yerusalimov, 53, was reportedly killed in the Moscow bomb blast Credit: East2West Five people died after a bomb ripped through a flashy Moscow restaurant on Saturday Credit: Ilya Lazarev/TASS Yerusalimov was reportedly one of five killed in the attack that targeted the lavish party of the notorious Col-Gen Alexander Chayko on Saturday. High-ranking military officers, politicians and top bureaucrats had gathered inside the exclusive Balzi Rossi, overlooking Moscow’s Kudrinskaya Squarewhen, when the home-made device detonated. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Yerusalimov was at the front of the restaurant as a female courier was stopped by a security operative as she carried a “gift” for Chayko. The birthday present exploded killing the woman carrying the bomb, a security officer and three others. The bomber is believed to have targeted the the 55th birthday party of Col-Gen Alexander Chayko Credit: East2West His troops committed barbaric mass rapes and tortures Credit: East2West Another 21 attendees are reportedly in a serious condition, some with their limbs blown off. The Kremlin tried to hide the names of victims killed in the suspected Ukrainian special services operation. Chayko – a decorated Hero of Russia who turned 55 last week – was the commander of Russian forces on the Kyiv front during the Bucha Massacre. His troops committed barbaric mass rapes and tortures in what is seen as one of the worst Russian crimes of the conflict. Most read in The Sun Ukraine designated him a wanted “war criminal” over his alleged role in the 2022 horrors. Now in charge of Vladimir Putin’s air-based nuclear forces, the general was reportedly not among the wounded. But his daughter Maria, 25, was seriously wounded, suffering a “traumatic brain injury”, according to sources. Her husband Daniil Peredriy, 27, was also killed in the blast. Peredriy married Chayko’s daughter in June last year Credit: East2West The Stalin-era building in central Moscow hosts an upmarket, exclusive Italian restaurant Credit: AP The woman carrying the gift was likely used as a “suicide bomber” without her knowledge, a source told Kommersant. Police and paramedics rushed to the Stalin-era high-rise building hosting the restaurant on Kudrinskaya Square in central Moscow. It comes as another senior Russian commander was reportedly killed by a Ukrainian FPV drone. Major General Dmitry Mikhailov, 39, one of Putin’s youngest generals, is said to have suffered fatal injuries while travelling in an armoured Tigr vehicle. He had allegedly ignored repeated warnings about the threat posed by Ukrainian drones before entering the combat zone. Mikhailov has also been accused of war crimes during Russia‘s occupation of the Izium region, with Ukrainian investigators naming him among those responsible. More than a dozen Russian generals have been killed since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Comment now