One of Vladimir Putin’s most notorious commanders Lt-Col Dmitry Lisitsky has died from a gunshot wound aged 48, according to reports.
There are competing claims over who was behind his death, with Ukraine alleging he was ‘liquidated’ in revenge for the notorious slaughter of hundreds of its troops as they retreated in 2014 in the ‘Ilovaisk cauldron’.
Russian sources insist he took his own life with his hunting rifle in his kitchen, in his home city Stavropol, amid ‘depression’ over the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Lisitsky – recipient of his country’s highest medal, the Hero of Russia – was commander of the 1st Airborne Assault Battalion of the 247th Airborne Assault Regiment.
His death was first announced by Ukrainian journalist Yuri Butusov who claimed Kyiv forces had ‘again avenged Ilovaisk – they liquidated […] Dmitry Lisitsky.’
His regiment had suffered ‘heavy losses’ as Russia retreated from Kharkiv last year and ‘the liquidation of Lisitsky will seriously weaken the combat capability of the regiment,’ Butusov claimed.
Russian sources, however, say his body was found in his apartment in Stavropol.
Colleagues said Lisitsky had recently been depressed over ‘a complaint about his illegal actions against [military] personnel’ during the war against Ukraine.
No further details were given about the supposed complaint.
The ‘Ilovaisk cauldron’ referred to the slaughter of at least 366 Ukrainian military and volunteers as they retreated from encirclement in Donetsk region in 2014.
He commanded the Russian battalion group which is accused of attacking the Ukrainians during a mutually agreed ceasefire enabling a peaceful retreat.
He allegedly gave the order to open fire on the Ukrainians once they came into the open. As well as the 366 who died, 450 were wounded, and 300 were captured.
Putin awarded him the Hero of Russia medal in 2015.
