A PAIR of Vladimir Putin's top colonels have reportedly been eliminated in a Storm Shadow missile blitz by Ukraine. The deadly drone ambush is said to have wiped out a Russian Lieutenant Colonel and a battalion chief who were hiding out in a bunker in Kursk.
![[The moment the Ukrainian strike hit a command post in Lgov, Kursk]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Lgov-attack-3-East2west-news.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Lieutenant Colonel Valery Tereshchenko was targeted in the command post along with eight other senior officers. One of these included Colonel Pavel Maletsky, 39, who is the commander of the 656th separate engineer-sapper battalion. The fatal blast tore through the city of Lgov on December 30, with images showing the moment of the explosion.
![[Russian commander Lt-Col Valery Tereshchenko was killed in the strike]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Lt-Col-Valery-Tereshchenko-1-east2west-news.jpg?strip=all&w=743)
Bright flashes of orange can be seen over the area where the command post was reportedly sat. The high-ranking casualties have only been revealed today as details of their funerals appeared to emerge. Putin is yet to officially announce the deaths with Russian media staying quiet over the blast.
![[Russian Colonel Pavel Maletsky was also eliminated]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Colonel-Pavel-Maletsky-1-east2west-news.jpg?strip=all&w=669)
But a tribute to Tereshchenko has been posted by the Russian Officers' Ice Hockey League. They announced “with bitterness and sorrow in our hearts” Tereshchenko died in the missile strike. He played a pivotal role in Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine since joining the Kremlin's ranks in October 2022.
He is reportedly due to be buried later today. Separately, a friend confirmed Maletsky’s death in the same missile strike. The deaths of the two colonels come amid reports from both sides that Ukraine is staging an offensive in Kursk region, where Putin has positioned thousands of North Korean fighters to grab back territory controlled by Kyiv since an August 2024 incursion.
