Lieutenant General Alexander Tatarenko died in an attack on the Belbek air base on Wednesday, according to the Crimean Wind Telegram channel.
A Ukrainian air strike on a Russian air base in occupied Crimea killed a top General and ten other servicemen, Russian media has reported.
Tatarenko was in overall charge of the Belbek air base, the Russian Federation’s most-developed and best-defended air force base in the Black Sea region.
It’s home to the 38th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Russian Air Force which flies Su-30SM2 and Su-27 aircraft.
Video reportedly recorded by an on-the-ground observer, and released by the Ukrainian Air Force, showed at least two fires burning at Belbek airfield, and a Russian interceptor missile being launched from the ground.
To date, the highest-ranking Russian general confirmed killed in Ukraine is that of Lieutenant General Oleg Yuryevich Tsokov, who was killed in July 2023 by a Ukrainian airstrike in Berdyansk using British Storm Shadow cruise missiles.
And there is still no sign of Admiral Viktor Sokolov, the Russian Black Sea Fleet (BSF) commander who was reported killed by a Ukrainian cruise missile strike on his headquarters in September. »
