A senior Russian pilot complicit in a deadly attack on a Ukrainian mall has been found dead with hammer wounds to the head, according to the Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR).
The pilot, named as Dmitry Golenkov, was said to be involved in the missile strike on civilians at Amstor mall in the Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk, on June 27, 2022.
A total of 22 people died in the attack and at least 59 were injured.
The body of Golenkov, who was chief of staff of the Russian 52nd heavy bomber aviation squadron, was found in an orchard on Sunday morning, in the Russian village of Suponevo, per a report released by HUR.
Newsweek has contacted the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ukrainian Defense Ministry for comment.
The mall was hit by Russian X-22 missiles fired from Tu-22M3 bombers that flew from Shaykovka airfield in Russia’s Kaluga region, according to Reuters. Golenkov was based at this airfield.
At the time, President Zelensky called the attack, “one of the most brazen terrorist acts in European history,” as at least 1000 people were inside the Amstor mall when it was hit.
G7 leaders labeled the strike as “abominable,” and listed aid for Ukraine as top of their agenda, according to Newsweek reporting at the time,
HUR posted photos of Golenkov’s body to their Telegram and social media channels.
They said: “The GUR of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reminds that there will be a fair retribution for every war crime.” However they did not claim direct responsibility for his death. The event could not be verified by the Kyiv Independent.
According to the HUR, the deceased pilot was also responsible for “a rocket attack on a residential building in Dnipro on January 14, 2023, when 46 Ukrainian civilians died, including 6 children.”
Efrem Lukatsky/Associated Press
The Kremenchuk mall attack became the center of media controversy at the time, after several social media accounts and Russian diplomats were accused of spreading disinformation about the event.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed they were trying to hit a weapons depot next door, according to reporting by the BBC after the attack. However, Ukrainian officials said there was no depot next door at all.
Additionally, a Belingcat investigation found that although official Russian accounts also claimed to have hit a train yard, satellite footage shows that no train yards were affected by the bombing.
Following the attack, Zelenskyy expressed his desire for the war to end within the year. Two years later the war between Ukraine and Russia is ongoing.
Recently, Ukraine has been able to claim some wins, including reporting that Russia has lost upwards of 24,000 troops in Ukraine in the past three weeks. Since Russia does not publish their own figures of military losses, these numbers are difficult to verify.
Additionally, Russia is now facing political pressure after Moldova voted by a razor-thin margin to join the European Union on October 20. According to Reuters, Moldovan president Maia Sandy has said there was “unprecedented” foreign interference in the referendum campaign.
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