[War] Special Report: "Russian Defence Minister Assassinated"

[Michael Downey]

Russian Defence Minister Assassinated

19 March 2014 BBC

*[Defence Minister Gregor Yoselev killed by car bomb while being driven to
work from his dacha.] *

In yet another harsh blow to the Russian military and government, Defence
Minister Gregor Yoselev, former Chairman of the General Staff and top
officer in the Russian military, has been in the words of the Russian
government 'assassinated' in Moscow today.

According to a statement given by the Moscow Metropolitan Police and the
Russian Internal Ministry, Minister Yoselev's limousine was intentionally
hit by an oncoming vehicle which had managed to avoid the escort security
vehicles accompanying the Minister's car. Moments after impact the attacking
car exploded very violently, apparently laden with high explosives. The
resulting blast completely destroyed both vehicles and several surrounding
escort cars and pedestrian traffic. The total death toll is estimated at 56
with over two hundred wounded.

The Kremlin has blamed Chechen separatists for the assassination. Prime
Minister Tretiak, speaking from the Russian Parliament Building under heavy
security, has vowed to find those responsible and bring them to justice.

Meanwhile the Defence Minister's death combined with the outbreak of
violence in Chechnya and the South Caucasus just days ago has put Russia
into a precarious military position. Unconfirmed reports indicate that more
and more Russian military forces are being diverted to the Caucasus,
Chechnya in particular, and there are rumours of a leadership crises within
the military.

"This puts Russia into a tight bind," one anonymous NATO official said to
Reuters. "With their top brass reeling from Minister Yoselev's death and so
much of their regular units occupied in the Caucasus, they may not be able
to respond to a more serious external threat."
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://esteroic.com/pipermail/war_esteroic.com/attachments/20080430/62a67c23/attachment.html