A GRU (Glavnoye Razvedyvatelnoye Upravlenie) agent, named locally as Nikita Klenkov, 44, was shot dead on Wednesday in what appeared to be an organised hit in the Moscow region, TASS state news agency reported.
According to reports by local media, law enforcement sources say the killer had waited for the serviceman’s car before pulling the trigger.
There has not yet been any official confirmation of his identity, Mail Online reports.
The site of Klenkov’s murder is less than 20 minutes’ drive from the Special Operations Training Center where he worked.
The Russian military intelligence officer’s assassination came just days after he returned from the Ukrainian frontline.
It was also noted that at least three shots were fired into the side window of the victim’s car as he was driving, while the vehicle kept moving until it ran into the fence of a house.
Klenkov was referred to as a high-ranking officer in the GRU military intelligence service.
He was also identified as the deputy commander of the Special Operations Forces Training Center of the Russian Armed Forces.
A source told TASS: “According to the Investigative Committee, on the morning of October 16, an unknown person in the village of Melenki near Moscow fired at least three times from a car into the side window of the driver’s door of another car driven by a local resident’.
“Klenkov was killed on the spot, while the vehicle continued moving ahead until it rammed into the fence.”
According to Baza, a grey Mitsubishi Outlander is being sought, and its driver, although the motive of the shooter remained unknown.
Based on information published by Telegram channel vchkogpu, Klenkov was the deputy commander of a military unit and served in one of the special forces units, reports Novaya Gazeta.
Russian commanders have been killed by devastating strikes orchestrated by Ukraine in recent times.
Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, said at least nine Russian soldiers or sailors had been killed and 16 injured during an attack by Storm Shadow missiles on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Russian-occupied Crimea.
Sahara Reporters
