Zaur Gurtsiev, a Russian major who ordered the bombing of Mariupol in 2022 and was later rewarded with a political appointment, was killed early Thursday, May 29, in a grenade explosion in Stavropol.
According to the Russian media outlet Agency. Novosti, Gurtsiev died in the blast alongside another man near a residential building at 85/19 Chekhov Street. The two were reportedly drinking on a bench when an unidentified individual detonated a grenade.
“Gurtsiev led the air campaign in Mariupol, during which thousands of people were killed,” the outlet reported.
As per Reuters, Vadym Boichenko, Mariupol’s mayor-in-exile, said his team gathered evidence that Russia’s bombardment of Mariupol killed at least 22,000 civilians over three months.
The explosion was confirmed by the regional governor, Vladimir Vladimirov, who said that all possible scenarios are under investigation – including what he called a possible “terrorist attack” organized by “Ukrainian Nazis.”
By way of explanation, the claim that Ukraine is a “Nazi state” is a Russian propaganda narrative used to justify its invasion of Ukraine and dehumanize Ukrainians.
“I regret to inform you that as a result of a night incident on Chekhov Street in Stavropol, our hero – a veteran of the ‘Special Military Operation [the term Russians use to describe their full-scale invasion of Ukraine] and participant in the ‘Time of Heroes’ program – Zaur Aleksandrovich Gurtsiev has died,” Vladimirov wrote on Telegram.
Law enforcement and security services are reportedly investigating the scene. Vladimirov claimed the situation in the city is under control.
Gurtsiev was directly involved in the aerial bombardment of Mariupol in early 2022 during Russia’s assault on the city. In October 2024, Russian leader Vladimir Putin named him First Deputy Head of Stavropol.
As of now, Ukrainian officials have not commented on Gurtsiev’s reported death.
The Russian Telegram channel VChK-OGPU, citing its sources, has reported new details about the death of Gurtsiev.
According to the report, Gurtsiev had connected with a man named Nikita Penkov on a gay dating site. Investigators allegedly discovered explicit messages and exchanged nude photos between the two.
Gurtsiev, who served as deputy head of the city, had invited Penkov to meet several times, though prior meetings were canceled due to Gurtsiev’s business trips - until the night of the bombing.
The two had agreed on a meeting spot in advance. As they approached one another, an explosion occurred.
Preliminary reports suggest that a homemade explosive device was hidden inside Penkov’s bag. The device reportedly contained metal pellets, such as those used in air guns, to maximize the damage.
VChK-OGPU claims Penkov may have been hired by unidentified individuals to gather compromising material on Gurtsiev and had been supplied with “special equipment” capable of transmitting video. The explosive device was allegedly installed within that equipment.
Previous assassinations
Reports from Russian media and Telegram channels suggested another possible assassination attempt in Moscow after a suspicious device was found under a Toyota Land Cruiser belonging to Col. Alexei Egorov, an officer in Russia’s General Staff.
The SUV had been vandalized days earlier with the word “ЧЕРТ” (“Devil” or “Crap”) painted on it.
Egorov serves in the same department as Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, who was killed in April by a car bomb near Moscow. Russia’s FSB – the successor to the KGB – later blamed Ukrainian intelligence for the attack, arresting an alleged agent shortly after.
Almost a dozen assassination attempts targeting Russian military or pro-war figures have occurred since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, including the high-profile deaths of Darya Dugina, blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, and Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov.