The outlet Meduza has counted at least six assassination attempts on Russian generals since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, saying generals are now dying in the rear as well as at the front. Meduza reported that at least three generals were killed in explosions in Moscow and the Moscow region, while a fourth was shot but survived. The likely latest target was Alexander Chaiko, appointed commander of Russia's Aerospace Forces only in May.
Kirillov killed by scooter bomb
In December 2024, Igor Kirillov, head of Russia's radiation, chemical and biological defense troops, became the first general killed in such an attack, according to Meduza. He died when a bomb attached to a scooter exploded as he left a building on Ryazansky Prospekt in Moscow, killing his aide Illia Polikarpov as well. The man who carried out the attack told a court he had been recruited by Ukrainian intelligence services and was sentenced to life in prison.
Moskalik and Sarvarov killed in bombings
In April 2025, Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy head of the Main Operational Directorate of the Russian General Staff, was killed in Balashikha, outside Moscow, when a bomb planted in a parked car exploded as he approached it. Ihnat Kuzin, described by investigators as an agent of Ukrainian intelligence services, was detained and also sentenced to life. In December 2025, Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, head of the General Staff's operational training directorate, was killed when his car was bombed in a parking lot after he had driven a few meters. Russia's Investigative Committee opened a case but has named no suspects.
Alekseev shot, Omurbekov targeted
In February 2026, Lieutenant General Volodymyr Alekseev, first deputy head of the Main Directorate of the Russian General Staff, was shot in Moscow and survived; investigators call him a top leader of Russian "volunteer" units fighting in Ukraine. In April, anonymous Telegram channels reported an explosive device planted in a mailbox at a military garrison in Knyaze-Volkonskoye-1, in Russia's Khabarovsk region, aimed at Major General Azatbek Omurbekov, killing a battalion commander instead. Omurbekov commanded the 64th motorized rifle brigade that invaded the Kyiv region in 2022 and was linked to the massacre in Bucha.
Explosion at Moscow restaurant
On August 1, an explosion at the Balzi Rossi restaurant in central Moscow killed three people and injured more than 20. Telegram channels said Chaiko, who turned 55 in late July, was likely celebrating his birthday and appointment there; his name has not appeared officially, and neither the Investigative Committee nor Russian television have commented. Chaiko is being tried in Ukraine over the Bucha massacre.
Ihor Romanenko, founder of the charity fund Let's Close the Sky of Ukraine and a former deputy chief of Ukraine's General Staff, said the restaurant blast suggested the attacks were scaling up and that their effect was growing.
