Putin had appointed Zaur Aleksandrovich Gurtsiev deputy mayor in Russia as reward for his military role in the invasion of Ukraine. He just died in an explosion, similar to the ones he unleashed on Ukranian civilians.

“Gurtsiev, despite his relatively young age, led the air part of the operation to [invade] Mariupol.”

“He introduced his developments in the technology of targeting missiles, which allowed them to increase their accuracy and effectiveness many times over, including hitting the Azov supply base.”

Russian forces seized control of the port city of Mariupol in 2022 following a brutal 86-day siege – one of the deadliest and most destructive battles since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago.