The commander of an elite Russian marine unit was reportedly killed in a Ukrainian rocket strike that also claimed the life of Russias deputy navy chief, the independent Telegram news channel Astra reported Friday, pointing out a now-deleted post by authorities in the officers hometown.Colonel Sergei Ilyin led the Pacific Fleets 155th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade and passed away during the unique military operation in Ukraine, according to a post credited to the Urmarsky district administration in the republic of Chuvashia.The post did not specify the date of Ilyins death, but Astra shared a picture of a signboard at his apparent funeral service revealing his birth and death dates as Nov.
26, 1985, and July 2, 2025.
That same day, reports emerged that 11 senior Russian military officers, including Navy Deputy Commander Mikhail Gudkov, were eliminated in a Ukrainian rocket strike in the southwestern Kursk region.Russias Defense Ministry validated Major General Gudkovs death throughout combat duty on July 2 however did not supply a cause or mention the other reported casualties.Ilyin had actually succeeded Gudkov as leader of the 155th brigade after President Vladimir Putin promoted Gudkov in March.Putin has actually regularly praised the 155th brigade, including at his year-end interview in December.
In October, he credited the unit with repelling a Ukrainian cross-border incursion into the Kursk region in August.The Urmarsky districts posts about Ilyins death were later on deleted from Telegram and the social media network VKontakte for unknown reasons, according to Astra.Pro-war blog writers claimed Ilyin was eliminated in the very same missile strike on a command post near the town of Korenevo that allegedly eliminated Gudkov.
The Moscow Times was not able to individually verify those claims.