Ukrainian Drones Shatter Putin’s Top General—Loses Arm and Leg in Kursk Strike, Video

Ukrainian Special Operations Forces have released exclusive footage showing a strike on Russian Lieutenant General Esedulla Abachev in Russia’s Kursk region.

According to the Ukrainian military, the attack took place during the night of August 16–17 near the town of Rylsk.

Abachev, who serves as deputy commander of Russia’s “Sever” grouping of forces, was targeted while traveling in a military vehicle along the Rylsk–Khomutovka highway. The operation was carried out by the UA_REG Team unit of the Special Operations Forces using FPV drones.

Ukrainian intelligence reported that Abachev sustained critical injuries, resulting in the amputation of an arm and a leg. He was evacuated by military transport aircraft and hospitalized in Moscow’s Central Clinical Hospital named after Vishnevsky.

At the outset of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Abachev commanded the so-called 2nd Army Corps of the “Luhansk People’s Republic,” overseeing operations that included strikes on civilian settlements in Luhansk region.

The released footage shows drones circling over a vehicle with military plates before striking it, reportedly carrying the Russian general. Ukrainian defense officials emphasized that the attack was part of a series of precision strikes against Russian military targets in the area.

Abachev was born in Dagestan and graduated in 1989 from the Kharkiv Guards Higher Tank Command School, followed by the Combined Arms Academy of the Russian Armed Forces in 2002.

He later served in various senior roles, including as brigade commander and chief of staff of Russia’s 5th Combined Arms Army. His combat experience spans the Armenia–Azerbaijan conflict, the Second Chechen War, the 2008 Russia–Georgia war, and Russia’s intervention in Syria.

Since 2022, Abachev has been directly involved in Russia’s war against Ukraine, holding senior command positions in occupied eastern territories.

Earlier, Russian Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, former deputy chief of the General Staff’s Main Operational Directorate, was killed in a car explosion near Moscow on April 25. According to Russian investigators, an improvised explosive device detonated near his residence in Balashikha, fatally wounding the 59-year-old officer.

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