In Engels, an unidentified man on a motorbike opened fire near the home of Russian Major General Nikolai Varpakhovich, commander of the 22nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Division. Russian media reported that the military pilot is in a critical condition. The attacker has not been apprehended. The SBU links Varpakhovich to the missile strikes on the «Okhmatdyt» children’s hospital and a residential building in Uman.
Briefly about the main points
- An unknown assailant shot at Mykola Varpakhovych near his home in Engels.
- The attacker arrived on a motorbike and was not arrested after the shooting.
- The wounded commander of a Russian air division is in a critical condition.
- On 31 August, the SBU charged him in absentia in connection with the «Okhmatdyt» case.
Attack near the air division commander’s home
The marksman’s target was Mykola Varpakhovych — commander of the 22nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Division of the Russian Air Force. According to Russian media reports, the attack took place near his home in Engels: an unidentified man rode up on a motorbike and opened fire.
Suspicions raised by the SBU and links to attacks on Ukraine
On 31 August, the SBU notified Varpakhovich in absentia that he was under suspicion in a case concerning a missile strike on the «Okhmatdyt» children’s hospital» 8 July 2024. According to the investigation, he gave the order to launch an X-101 from a Tu-95MS bomber.
The Council of the EU added the military officer to the sanctions list in December 2024 and specifically linked the division he commanded to the attack on the hospital. During the massive strike that day, according to the UN, at least 43 civilians were killed and a further 147 were injured in several regions of Ukraine.
Separately, in 2025, the SBU announced that Varpakhovich was under investigation in absentia in connection with the attack on a residential building in Uman on 28 April 2023. Twenty-four civilians were killed in the attack; an independent UN international commission assessed the attack as indiscriminate. Charges brought in absentia represent a procedural position taken by the investigating authorities, not a court verdict.
