Lured into a trap

Top Russian officers killed in HIMARS strike

Three high-ranking Russian officers are said to have been killed in a Ukrainian attack using the HIMARS multiple rocket launcher system and drones. Ukrainian military intelligence published a video showing the strike in the occupied territory of Zaporizhzhya oblast. Russian military bloggers reported that those killed had been lured into a trap.

The secret service announced that it had received information about a planned meeting of the officers and had subsequently worked out an attack plan with the unmanned systems forces and the security service. 

This video of the attack was shared by the Ukrainian military on social media: 

Attack drones also used
It was a "high-precision HIMARS attack" on the officers and their vehicles, with attack drones later targeting an evacuation group. The three Russian officers killed in the attack were Captain Nagorny Dmitry Olegovich, commander of the 1st battalion of the 135th motorized rifle regiment, Captain Krokhmalov Grigory Aleksandrovich, deputy chief of staff for reconnaissance of the 135th motorized rifle regiment, and Captain Fomin Yuri Viktorovich, commander of the anti-aircraft battery of the 4th Guards military base. 

Military bloggers, however, suspect that the Russian officers were lured to the location where the attack took place under the pretext of humanitarian aid deliveries. "A Russian military blogger claimed that the Ukrainian forces knew the personal details of the officers, including those they communicated with, their friends and those who had previously delivered humanitarian aid," the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said.

Moscow foiled bomb attack on another officer
As reported by the Russian domestic intelligence service FSB, the killing of another high-ranking Russian officer and a pro-Russian military blogger was thwarted. The two were supposed to have been murdered by a bomb hidden in a portable loudspeaker.