Ukraine investigates suspicion that the brigade commander was shot dead

The Ukrainian Army’s Southern Operations Command announced on June 28 that Colonel Volodymyr Kononnikov, commander of the 154th Independent Mechanized Brigade, had passed away and preliminary data showed “no signs of violent action”.

The Ukrainian police force in Zaporizhzhia province later said a military commander had “died from a gunshot wound”. The identity of this person is not mentioned, but reported Ukrainska Pravda identified it as brigadier Kononnikov.

Authorities opened a case for “intentional murder” under Article 115 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. This is the standard procedure in this country when a body is discovered with a gunshot wound, in which the investigating agency will clarify all possibilities such as the victim being shot to death, committing suicide or having an accident.

The 154th Independent Mechanized Brigade of Ukraine was established in September 2023, mainly fighting in Kharkov province and the Donbass region, including Lugansk and Donetsk provinces. This unit participated in the defense of the strategic stronghold of Pokrovsk, the city that fell in December 2025, as well as participated in the battle on the Kupyansk front.

Colonel Kononnikov was appointed brigade commander last year. Brigade 154 is currently based in the city of Huliaipole, in the Ukrainian-controlled area of ​​Zaporizhzhia province.

Since the beginning of hostilities, Russia and Ukraine have carried out assassinations on each other’s territory using a variety of methods.

Russian news agency TASS on June 28 said that Rustem Fakhriev, a colonel working at the General Directorate of Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, was “eliminated” in May, but did not give details.

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) previously accused Fakhriev of being behind a failed assassination attempt on a high-ranking officer in the Crimean peninsula in early December 2025.

Fakhriev is said to have recruited Ukrainian citizens for the above mission. This person was killed in a gunfight with security forces while trying to plant explosives in a Russian officer’s car. Another person believed to be an accomplice was arrested and charged with terrorism.