Russia’s top military chief wounded and evacuated from war zone
VLADIMIR Putin’s top military commander was flown back to Russia after suffering a shrapnel wound, it was reported yesterday.
Valery Gerasimov, the Chief of the Russian General Staff, had been sent by Putin to lead the push to grab territory in eastern Ukraine.
Gerasimov, 66, was wounded in Izyum, Kharkiv, according to unconfirmed reports. The region is at the centre of intense fighting and is where Russia’s ninth general Andrei Simonov, 55, was killed, it was claimed yesterday. Gerasimov, who is the highest ranking officer of the Russian Armed Forces, sustained ‘a shrapnel wound in the upper third of the right leg without a bone fracture’, claimed an unofficial Russian source. ‘The shard was removed – there is no danger to life.’
But the injury was severe enough to have him flown away from the frontline and back to Russia.
Ukrainian government official Anton Gerashchenko
said a ‘large number’ of senior officers were killed during the attack on Izyum.
Pro-Ukraine Telegram channel Vertikal reported that Gerasimov had been ‘wounded near Izyum’, adding: ‘Our source reports that his legs and hips are damaged.’ It suggested that three of his entourage had been killed.
Gerasimov was evacuated in an Mi-8 military helicopter to Belgorod in western Russia, said the Agentstvo media outlet. He then boarded another plane to an unknown destination. The independent Conflict Intelligence Team said a witness at the airport had seen Gerasimov board the plane unaided. ‘The source confirms that it was Gerasimov who flew away,’ it posted. ‘But he went on board himself, alive and well.’
If true, his injury, even if minor, is another blow to Putin and his faltering war campaign.
It comes as a military site in Belgorod was on fire due to a suspected Ukrainian attack.