Russian commander killed while jogging may have been tracked on Strava app

(CNN) — A Russian submarine commander shot to death while jogging on Monday may have been targeted by an assailant tracking him on a popular running app, according to Russian media.

Stanislav Rzhitsky was killed earlier this week in the southern Russian city of Krasnodar by an “unknown person,” state news agency TASS reported, adding that “the motive for the crime is being investigated.”

Suspects for Rzhitsky’s death have been identified, TASS said. Russian media later reported that Rzhitsky’s killer may have used Strava, a widely available app used by runners and cyclists, to follow his movements.

Rzhitsky’s jogging and cycling routes appear on an account in his name on the Strava app. One of his regular jogging circuits that he took while working in Krasnodar include the park where he was killed early Monday.

One Russian media outlet, Tsargrad, said the assailant “planned the murder so carefully that the moment of the attack did not appear on any CCTV cameras.”

“The killer waited in the park near the sports complex ‘Olympus,’ where Rzhitsky regularly made morning jogs. The man died on the spot, the shooter is on the run.”

The Strava profile in Rzhitsky’s name shows that he also used to cycle in Sevastopol in 2014, where Russia’s Black Sea fleet is based.

CNN cannot independently confirm the authenticity of the Strava profile, but it includes many photographs of him.

Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence disclosed how Rzhitsky was apparently shot, in an unusually detailed statement on Telegram. The agency did not explicitly take responsibility for the commander’s death.

“The submariner was jogging in the ’30th Anniversary of Victory’ park in Krasnodar. Around 6 a.m., he was shot seven times with a Makarov pistol. As a result of the gunshot wounds, Rzhitsky died on the spot,” the statement said.

“Due to heavy rain, the park was deserted, so there were no witnesses who could provide details or identify the attacker.”

Rzhitsky commanded one of Russia’s Kilo-class submarine of the Black Sea fleet, capable of firing Kalibr cruise missiles, according to the Ukrainian statement and Russian news reports.

Submarine-launched missile attacks have been responsible for some of the most destructive strikes on Ukrainian cities, including one almost exactly a year ago on the central city of Vinnytsia which killed dozens of people, including three children.

A later statement by the Strategic Communications department of Ukraine’s armed forces sought – on the face of it – to downplay suggestions Kyiv might have carried out the attack.

In language striking a detached, perhaps even sarcastic tone, the statement said Rzhitsky had come to the conclusion that missile strikes that killed civilians were ineffective.

“Obviously, he was eliminated by his own men for refusing to continue to carry out combat orders from his command regarding missile attacks on peaceful Ukrainian cities,” the statement concluded.

Rzhitsky’s family said he “didn’t participate” in the war on Ukraine “in any way,” and had sought to leave the Russian armed forces in 2021, according to the Russian media outlet Baza.

Rzhitsky filed a report for dismissal from the Russian Armed Forces in December 2021. His father said he was in Sevastopol during his dismissal and did not go to sea, Baza reported. He had previously helmed a submarine based in Sevastopol, his father added.

In August 2022, the commander was finally dismissed and later got a job in the administration of Krasnodar.

Rzhitsky’s parents said they talked to him the day before he was killed and he had been “in a great mood,” according to Russian media outlet Izvestia.

“If he had any suspicions, he might have changed plans, routes and so on. But he didn’t say anything,” his father said.

The Investigative Committee of Russia asked for a report on the progress of the investigation into Rzhitsky’s death.

Second senior Russian killed

The war in Ukraine has spread across the border with Russia in recent months, amid reports of intense shelling attacks, drone strikes, and brief incursions on villages in an apparent attempt to destabilize Moscow’s faltering invasion.

Separately, a senior Russian commander, was killed near the Russian-occupied city of Berdiansk in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region on Tuesday, according to Ukrainian officials.

Lieutenant-General Tsokov Oleg Yurievich sustained injuries in September 2022, adviser to the Ukrainian mayor of Mariupol, Vadym Boichenko, said. The mayor does not currently reside in Mariupol, which is under Russian control.

CNN is unable to independently verify reports about the cause of Yurievich’s death.

The commander, who was among the individuals sanctioned by the United Kingdom over Russia’s war in Ukraine, was with Russia’s 144th Motorized Rifle Division back in 2022, TASS reported.

In August, questions swirled over the car bombing that killed Darya Dugina, the daughter of prominent Russian political figure Alexander Dugin.

At the time, Kyiv vehemently denied claims from Russian officials that Dugina’s death was a state-sponsored assassination.

But the US intelligence community said in October it believed Dugina’s death was authorized by elements within the Ukrainian government, sources briefed on the intelligence told CNN.

A Ukrainian defense intelligence official said Kyiv had nothing to do with Dugina’s death.

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