Russian Chief of Staff Was Wounded During the Trip to Oversee Combat

Late last week, Valery Gerasimov, Putin’s right-hand man and chief of staff of the Russian Army, went on a secret mission to the front lines of the Russian-Ukrainian war to reverse the course of the Russian military. The Ukrainian side, though, got wind of his whereabouts and immediately launched a heavy bombardment on where he sheltered, wounding Gerasimov.

According to sources familiar with the matter, Gerasimov has shrapnel wounds in the upper third of his right leg but no fractures. He has currently been withdrawn from Ukraine and returned to Russia for treatment. Additionally, the bombarding resulted in the death or injury of nearly a dozen Russian military officers.

In response, the Ukrainian Army General Staff announced that from April 30 to the night of May 1, two air raids were carried out on the Russian military command center located in the Kharkiv and Izyum regions, stating that the bombardments primarily targeted the Russian Army Headquarters, with the Airborne Infantry Headquarters as the secondary target.

According to some reports, an estimated 200 Russian soldiers were killed in the bombing, possibly including Russian Major General Andrei Simonov, who commanded the combat unit. If his death is confirmed, Simonov will become the tenth Russian general killed in the war since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.