Russian Bomber Pilot Who Attacked Ukraine Dies of 'Hammer Blows to the Head' | The National Interest

Russian forces are making slow but steady progress in Ukraine's east, particularly near the strategic town of Kupiansk, which has become a focal point due to its logistical importance. While Ukrainian defenses are strained, they continue to hold critical ground.

What You Need to Know: Russian forces are making slow but steady progress in Ukraine's east, particularly near the strategic town of Kupiansk, which has become a focal point due to its logistical importance. While Ukrainian defenses are strained, they continue to hold critical ground.

Meanwhile, Russian losses mount, both on the battlefield and at home. Dmitry Golenkov, a Russian bomber pilot implicated in deadly civilian attacks, was brutally murdered near his village in Russia. Though the assailants remain unidentified, it highlights Ukraine’s ongoing pursuit of justice for Russian war crimes, further intensifying the multi-dimensional nature of the conflict.

The Russian military continues to put pressure on the Ukrainian defenses, making a slow but gradual progress in the east and threatening the strategic town of Kupiansk.

Meanwhile, the Russian forces continue to take heavy losses on a daily basis. Russian troops aren’t even safe in their own villages after a bomber pilot involved in strikes against civilians was hammered to death.

“Russia has maintained pressure in the east of Ukraine’s Kharkiv oblast. Russian forces are highly likely within several hundred metres of the Oskil river in a narrow salient approximately 20km south of the town of Kupiansk,” the British Military Intelligence assessed in its latest operational estimate of the war.

Moscow captured Kupiansk in the initial invasion in the spring of 2022. However, the Ukrainian military returned in a spectacular fashion with an impressive counteroffensive in September 2022, liberating hundreds of square miles of land in just a few days.

“It is likely that continued Russian attacks are complicating Ukrainian operations on the east bank of the Oskil. On 15 October 2024, regional Ukrainian authorities ordered the civilian evacuation of several population centres in the area. Russia will likely continue to make gains in the area in coming weeks,” the British Military Intelligence stated.

The Ukrainian military will likely fight hard for Kupiansk because of the town’s strategic position and role in the overall defensive line.

“Russian forces have been making sporadic attempts to regain control of Kupiansk since losing the town in a Ukrainian counter-offensive in September 2022. The town is situated on the Oskil river and is a rail hub supporting Ukrainian operations in the area,” the British Military Intelligence added.

It is key for the Ukrainian military to maintain Kupiansk under control. As an important logistical hub, Kupiansk can support offensive and defensive operations in the east. A potential loss to the Russian forces would seriously frustrated the Ukrainian military’s operations in the area, while also facilitate further Russian offensives in that part of the contract line.

Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine continues to unfold on multiple levels. Over the weekend, Dmitry Golenkov, a Russian Aerospace Forces officer and Tu-22M3 bomber pilot was killed in his village by unknown persons.

A pilot of the 52nd Heavy Bomber Regiment, Golenkov was involved in at least two known attacks against civilian targets in Ukraine, killing dozens of innocent civilians, including children. Specifically, the Russian bomber pilot was involved in the Amstor shopping mall strike in June 2022 when Russian missiles targeted a shopping mall in the middle of the day with over 1,000 civilians present, killing 22 and injuring dozens. Golenkov was also involved in an attack against an apartment building in Dnipro on January 2023 that killed 46 civilians on their beds, including six children.

Golenkov was killed by repeated hammer strikes to the head near his village Suponevo, Russia.

Although it is not clear whether the Ukrainian secret services, anti-war Russian protesters, or, indeed, common criminals killed Golenkov, Kyiv is known for pursuing justice against individual Russian officers and soldiers identified for committing war crimes.

Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense and national security journalist specializing in special operations. A Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ), he holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University, an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He is pursuing a J.D. at Boston College Law School. His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.

Image Credit: Creative Commons and/or Shutterstock.

October 11, 2024