Russian authorities believe that explosion originated in a “home explosive device.” Video Vigilance shows that Zaur Aleksandrovich Gurtsiev was accompanied by another man at the time of the incident
A Russian deputy governor and prominent veteran of the Moscow War in Ukraine died in an explosion in southern Russia at dawn on Thursday, local authorities advance.
Zaur Aleksandrovich Gurtsiev, 29, died alongside another man in a street explosion in Stavropol, which investigators said they were “originated by a home explosive device.”
“As part of the investigation, the incident site is being inspected and the necessary investigative actions are being carried out to establish all circumstances of the incident,” says the Russian investigative committee in a statement issued Thursday.
Video images that circulated on social networks and Russian state media seem to show the moment of the explosion, which occurs just when Gurtsiev meets another man on a dark street near a line of parked cars.
After the explosion, the images show Gurtsiev lying on the floor, while the second man is projected back by the explosion.
The man who died in the explosion in Stavropol along with Gurtsiev leased an apartment in a building near the incident site, emergency services reported to the Tass state news agency.
Regional Governor Vladimir Vladimirov wrote on Telegram that “all versions are being considered, including the organization of a terrorist attack” involving Ukraine.
Gurtsiev participated in the program “Time of Heroes”, created by President Vladimir Putin, used to promote Russian war veterans in Ukraine to official positions in the government. His appointment as regional deputy governor was announced personally by Putin.
According to the “Heroes Time” website, “Gurtsiev, despite his relatively young age, led the aerial part of the operation to release Mariupol.”
“Gurtsiev has introduced developments in precision missile technology, which allowed to increase its accuracy and effectiveness often, including Azov’s supply base attack.”
Russian forces controlled Mariupol’s port city in 2022 after a brutal siege of 86 days – one of the deadliest and most destructive battles since Moscow launched the large -scale invasion of Ukraine for over three years.
According to United Nations estimates, 90% of Mariupol’s residential buildings were damaged or destroyed during the Russian attacks, and about 350,000 people from the pre-war population reached about 430,000 were forced to flee.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview earlier this year that predictions pointed out that 20,000 civilians were killed, although the number of deadly victims has not yet been independently verified. Ukrainian authorities accused Moscow of trying to cover up the evidence of low civilians, the accusation that Kremlin denies.
Gurtsiev is the latest name in the series of Russian military man killed in the country over the past year, a period when Ukraine war branches have been increasingly felt internally.
Last month, Russian authorities accused a “Ukrainian special services agent” of terrorism after being detained in a car explosion that killed Russian General Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy chief of the Russian armed armed forces’ main operations direction.
In February, Armen Sarkisman, founder of a Pro -Russian militia group in eastern Ukraine – described by the authorities in Kiev as a “genius of crime” – died after a bomb attack in the center of Moscow. The attack occurred in a luxury residential complex in the capital, then the state news agency Tass said.
