Deputy, member of the State Duma Committee on Defense, former commander of the 58th Army of the Russian Federation Andrei Gurulev confirmed the death of Lieutenant General Oleg Tsokov on the air of the 60 Minutes program on Rossiya-1, reports the BBC.
Answering a question from host Olga Skabeeva, Gurulev said that the high-ranking military man “died heroically.” He also noted that Tsokov had "crazy authority in the armed forces" and "deserves enormous respect." Gurulev also recalled that in September, the lieutenant general was seriously wounded and had the right not to go to the front again, but he allegedly said: “No, guys, I will be there,” and again went to fight.
The death of Tsokov in occupied Berdyansk was first reported by the adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, Petr Andryushchenko, on the morning of July 11. A little later, this information began to be confirmed in Russian Z-channels.
Andryushchenko later wrote that the nighttime missile attack had hit the Dune Hotel, which housed the Russian military leadership. He states that now the building is completely destroyed, and the area around it is cordoned off. The channel "Berdyansk Now" wrote about a series of loud explosions at 3:30 am. The work of the Russian air defense was also noted.
Oleg Tsokov is the most senior representative of the Russian command who died in the war. Before that, it was known from official sources about the death of five major generals of the Russian army and one captain of the 1st rank.