Russian Lieutenant General Oleg Yuryevich Tsokov was reportedly killed in an overnight attack by Ukrainian forces in the city of Berdyansk. The information was confirmed on the Telegram channel of the mayor of Mariupol, Peter Andryushchenko, and then by an advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Anton Gerashchenko, on Twitter.
Later Andryushchenko suggested that this had been an attack against the “Duna Hotel” which had been commandeered as accommodation for the Russian military leadership in the occupied town. According to local reports, cited by the mayor, the hotel was all but completely destroyed in spite of reports that anti-missile defenses were sited close to the building. Unconfirmed reports say the building may have been struck by a Storm Shadow missile.
The Russian authorities have not yet confirmed the reports and Kyiv Post is not yet able to verify the incident. Locals report that almost nothing is left of the hotel which is now cordoned off while heavy equipment and ambulances are being used to remove debris and search for survivors.
In September Tsokov, who had taken over as the commander of the 144th motorized rifle division of the 20th Combined Arms Army the month before in the rank of Major General, was reportedly injured in a Ukrainian artillery attack on his headquarters near Svatove in the occupied region of Luhansk. He was then evacuated to St. Petersburg to be treated for a serious wound to his leg.
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It is not known when he returned to Ukraine but, according to some sources, he had been promoted to Lieutenant General earlier in the year. While Russian authorities have yet to confirm his death, it was noted that his Russian Wikipedia page had been updated, with the announcement that he was “killed by AFU terrorists near Berdyansk, Ukraine, on July 11, 2023.”
Tsokov is a veteran of almost every war in which Russia has been involved including the two Russian-Chechen wars and operations in Syria. He participated in Russia’s 2014 invasion and received the so-called medal “For the Return of Crimea” for his part in the occupation of the peninsula.
Tsokov was placed under Ukraine sanctions in October for his role in missile strikes against Ukrainian cities then in February this year was added to the EU sanctions list for his “participation in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.”
Estimates of the number of Russian Generals killed following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine vary between 10 and 20 with Moscow not acknowledging any such losses.
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