Russian Military Officer on Ukrainian Blacklist Shot Dead While Jogging in Southern City
July 11 (Reuters) – Stanislav Rzhitsky, a 42-year-old Russian military officer, was gunned down while on his morning run in the southern Russian city of Krasnodar. Rzhitsky had previously commanded a submarine in the Black Sea and his personal details had appeared on the Ukrainian website Myrotvorets (Peacemaker), which maintains a database of individuals considered to be enemies of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian GUR military intelligence agency published details of the killing on its website, without claiming responsibility or revealing how they obtained the information. According to the agency, Rzhitsky was shot seven times with a Makarov pistol while jogging in a deserted city park at approximately 6 AM.
Russian state media and war bloggers reported that Rzhitsky was the deputy head of military mobilization in Krasnodar and had previously commanded the “Krasnodar” submarine in the Black Sea.
The Russian state Investigative Committee announced on Tuesday that they had arrested a suspect in his early 60s who was found in possession of a pistol and silencer. A video released by the committee showed heavily armed security officers storming a house and detaining the suspect, who was wearing only boxer shorts.
Baza, a Russian Telegram channel connected to the security services, speculated that the killer might have tracked Rzhitsky’s movements through an app where he posted his regular jogging route in Krasnodar and the time it took him to complete it.
This marks the third assassination of pro-war Russian figures listed in the Myrotvorets database since Russian forces invaded Ukraine 17 months ago. Last August, journalist Darya Dugina was killed in a bomb attack, and war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was assassinated in April.
Although Russia has blamed Ukraine for these attacks, Kyiv has denied any involvement and suggested that they are the result of internal Russian conflicts.
Rzhitsky’s father, quoted by Baza, stated that his son had resigned from the military at the end of 2021 and had been discharged the following August, after a delay.
The investigation into Rzhitsky’s murder is ongoing.
Reporting by Mark Trevelyan, editing by Mark Heinrich