Is Russia’s top general Valeri Gerasimov, “Putin’s right-hand man,” dead? Rumor mill is running at full speed | War Ukraine and Russia

Ukraine carried out a series of attacks last Wednesday on Russian border regions and the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014. On Thursday, the Russian military claimed it had repelled a new attack on Sevastopol, Crimea’s largest city. “This was the largest-scale attack in recent times,” Governor Mikhail Razvoyaev said afterwards.

After the attacks, rumors quickly began circulating on social media. Several sources claimed there was evidence that Russia’s Valeri Gerasimov, the chief of the general staff, was at a command post in Sevastopol when one of the Ukrainian missiles hit. The 68-year-old top general reportedly did not survive the attack.

The information has not been independently verified. There is also no concrete evidence that Gerasimov was actually in Sevastopol at the time of the attacks. The Russian authorities have not yet responded to the rumors.

If reports prove true, Gerasimov’s death could be one of Vladimir Putin’s heaviest losses. After all, the 68-year-old chief of staff is considered the right-hand man of the Russian president.

Gerasimov was appointed leader of the Russian invasion last year, the fourth in just a few months. The top general was also a commander during the Second Chechen War, which took place from 1999 to 2009, and has been chief of staff of the Russian army since 2012. Gerasimov was also part of the select group that masterminded the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.