An aide and close associate of former top Ukrainian General Valery Zaluzhny has reportedly been killed in a Russian missile strike in Donbass.
Officials announced Colonel Aleksandr Nikityuk’s death on Friday, saying he was killed in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Dobropolye. Zaluzhny, who currently serves as Ukraine’s ambassador in London, later confirmed that his friend had been killed by “an enemy missile.”
According to Russian military bloggers, Nikityuk was in a hotel that housed Ukraine’s 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade when the building was hit by an S-300 missile.
Nikityuk was a policeman before becoming Zaluzhny’s aide during Russia’s military operation, which was launched in February 2022. According to Ukrainian media, he was Zaluzhny’s military police liaison.
One of the most recognizable faces of Ukraine’s military efforts, Zaluzhny was credited with the defense of Kiev during the early stages of the conflict. He earned praise from Western observers and significantly raised his profile overseas with his widely quoted interviews.
Media reports, however, indicated growing disagreements between him and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, especially in the wake of the failed 2023 counteroffensive. Zelensky denied that there were tensions, but publicly rejected Zaluzhny’s assessment about a stalemate on the front line.
Zelensky fired Zaluzhny as the top commander of the army in February. He was appointed as envoy to Britain the next month.