Liquidation Of Top General Tsokov In Berdyansk Causes Panic Among Russian Propagandists

The lieutenant-general's role in the war against Ukraine and problems in the 58th Army of the Russian Federation are revealed.

Lieutenant General Oleg Tsokov, deputy commander of the troops of Russia's Southern Military District, who was liquidated in Zaporizhzhia Region, personally commanded the troops. The group was responsible for repelling the AFU counter-offensive in the area from Polohi to the Kakhovka Reservoir.

Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) noted that the Ukrainian Storm Shadow missile strike killed Lieutenant General Oleg Tsokov, deputy commander of the troops of the Southern Military District of the Russian Federation, at the command post of the 58th General Troops Army in occupied Berdyansk, Zaporizhzhia region. Russian military bloggers and Ukrainian sources reported Tsokov's death on July 11, while social media users said he was killed in a strike on a local hotel.

At that, one of the gauleiters of Zaporizhzhia region, Volodymyr Rogov, published footage allegedly showing plumes of smoke from Ukrainian missile strikes on Berdyansk, but did not provide any information about Tsokov's death.

The Kremlin-affiliated Rybar public page states that the local residents, who knew that the high-ranking general of the Russian Armed Forces lived in the city, are allegedly to blame for the incident. Moreover, it also stated that the Ukrainian artillery constantly strikes at the recreation centres on the occupied territory.

Tsokov was previously wounded in a Ukrainian strike on Svatove in Luhansk region in late September 2022, when he was commanding the 144th Motorised Rifle Division of the 20th All-Russian Army of the Western Military District. A Kremlin-linked blogger said local residents were aware of Tsokov's arrival and noted that Ukrainian forces have systematically struck Russian-occupied infrastructure in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson region, particularly recreation centres used by Russian forces as headquarters and command posts.

Ukrainian military officials have repeatedly said that defence forces are conducting an interception campaign as part of their counter-offensives to destroy Russia's logistics and command. ISW spotted the 42nd Motorised Rifle Division of the 58th SAA operating south of Orekhove and the 19th Motorised Rifle Division of the 58th SAA operating southwest of Orekhove. Tsokov's presence at the reported command post of the 58th SAA suggests that he was personally in charge of the army responsible for repelling Ukrainian counter-offensives in key sections of western Zaporizhzhia region from the village of Polohi, 90 kilometres southeast of Zaporizhzhia, to the Kakhovka reservoir.

As reported by Charter97.org, on July 11, it was reported that one of the commanders of the Russian army, Oleg Tsokov, had been liquidated near the temporarily occupied Berdyansk in Zaporizhzhia region.

Later the same day, a number of Russian media outlets confirmed Tsokov's death. It was reported that the building where he was staying was hit by a Storm Shadow missile.