The leader of Russia’s most important nuclear submarine was shot and killed while driving his truck and being attacked with a lot of gunfire.
Captain Ivan Kovgan, who was 52 years old, was killed by soldiers from Azerbaijan in the area called Nagorno-Karabakh. He had been sent there to help keep peace and was working as the deputy commander for a group of peacekeepers. Captain Kovgan had only been there for two months before he died.
Kovgan worked as second-in-command of Russia’s Navy submarines in the Arctic region.
Four more Russian soldiers died when the car was hit, including Colonel Tagir-Murod from the team that deals with radiation, chemicals, and biological threats.
The soldiers from Azerbaijan who shot someone have been arrested and may be charged with a crime. The leader has also been temporarily relieved of their duties.
The president of the country called Vladimir Putin to say sorry for the attack and promised to give money to the families of the servicemen who were killed.
President Ilham Aliyev said that a detailed investigation will be done to find out what happened, and anyone responsible will be punished accordingly. This was mentioned in a statement from the Kremlin.
Azerbaijan’s defense ministry said that officials from both Baku and Moscow are working together on the investigation and they are asking for people to be patient.
Azerbaijan started a military operation to take control of Nagorno-Karabakh which belongs to them but has been controlled by Armenians for 30 years. At the same time, there was a truck attack.
The countries started fighting over the area in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and had another big fight in 2020 that lasted a few weeks.
Some Russian peace-keepers went to calm down a tense situation as part of an agreement to stop fighting. However, an Azerbaijani military group accidentally shot down a Russian helicopter, causing the death of two pilots.
Yesterday, one of Putin’s very close friends shared a weird video announcing that he is alive and inside the top hospital in the Kremlin.