A Russian naval officer who allegedly commanded a deadly missile strike on Ukraine has reportedly been assassinated while out jogging, after being tracked on a running app.
Stanislav Rzhitsky was found with four bullet wounds in his back near the Olimp sports complex in Krasnodar, southern Russia.
Rzhitsky was reportedly targeted for commanding a Kalibr missile strike on the Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia nearly a year ago which killed 28 people.
Ukraine’s intelligence service, the GUR, said he was shot at 6am yesterday.
A spokesperson did not claim responsibility for his death but added: “Due to heavy rain the park was deserted, so there are no witnesses who could provide details or recognise the attacker.”
Russian police said they were searching for a man aged between 30 and 40 who had been seen wearing black.
Investigators believe his running route was tracked through the Strava jogging app and his death was linked to the upcoming first anniversary of the Kalibr attack on 15 July.
A screenshot from his profile on Strava last week mapped out a 14-minute jog in the Russian city of Krasnodar.
Reports say Rzhitsky was hit in the “back and chest” and died at the scene, with two 9mm bullets found in his body.
Relatives and friends attend the funeral ceremony for Liza Dmitrieva, a four-year-old girl killed during last July’s Russian attack on Vinnytsia— (AP)
His watch and headphones were located at the scene, indicating robbery was not the motive, according to news outlet Mash.
A murder investigation has been launched by Russian police.
Among the 28 killed in Vinnytsia was Kateryna Hula, 24, the administrator of the Neuromed medical centre which was hit by the missile attack.
Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska knew four-year-old Down syndrome girl Liza Dmitrieva, one of the three children brutally killed in the Russian strike.
Other victims include Tetyana Kharchenko, 32, Evhen Kovalenko, 25, and concert organiser Viktor Polishchuk.
In the immediate aftermath of the strike, Russian state TV claimed the submarine hit had been the “most productive” of the war.
It said it killed Colonel Oleg Makarchuk, 48, head of the armaments and logistics service of the Ukrainian Air Force, and Colonel Dmitry Burdiko, another high-ranking air force commander, as they met in the so-called House of Officers in Vinnytsia.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky suggested the attack was deliberately aimed at civilians.
