Ukrainian military intelligence killed a senior Russian commander in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region in late December during an “ambush” operation with drones, Kyiv’s GUR spy agency said on Sunday.

The GUR’s Kraken special forces “eliminated” Sergey Melnikov, the chief of staff of Russia’s Storm Ossetia battalion, or assault forces under Moscow’s 429th Motorized Rifle Regiment, the agency said in a statement.

Newsweek has reached out to Russia’s Defense Ministry for comment via email.

Why It Matters

Targeting high-level Russian commanders is important for Ukraine after a year of steady gains by the Kremlin in the east of the war-torn country, with Kyiv staring down a much larger military force and an economy firmly on a war footing.

With looming questions over whether incoming President Donald Trump will broker a ceasefire deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, both sides are throwing resources into the fight, trying to gain an advantage for possible negotiations in the coming months.

What To Know

Military intelligence officers received information indicating when and where Melnikov would be, the GUR said.

The spy agency said the vehicle was traveling along a highway linking Vasylivka, a settlement on the Russian-controlled east bank of the Dnieper River, and the transport hub of Tokmak, another Moscow-held town in Zaporizhzhia.

Ukrainian forces planned an “ambush” with first person-view (FPV) drones, the agency said, referring to cheap but often effective uncrewed aerial vehicles used extensively by both Moscow and Kyiv.

The drone operators scared the driver of the vehicle carrying Melnikov, the GUR said.

“The terrified Russian driver abruptly changed the trajectory of the car, the car flew into a ditch, and then the military intelligence officers hit the windshield with a kamikaze drone,” according to the spy agency. Melnikov and his driver were killed, the GUR said.

The GUR shared footage from an FPV drone, purporting to show the attack. Newsweek could not independently verify the video.

The Kraken unit of the GUR is a well-known volunteer force, formed by veterans of Ukraine’s Azov Battalion who were at the forefront of defensive actions when Russian troops crossed over into Ukraine in February 2022, a military spokesperson told The Washington Post.

Who Said What

Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency: “On December 29, 2024, on the Vasylivka-Tokmak highway, soldiers of the FPV calculation of the active operations unit of the GUR of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine ‘Kraken’ eliminated the chief of staff of the ‘Storm Osetia’ battalion (an assault unit within the 429th motorized rifle regiment of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation), Sergey “Kama” Melnikov, and his driver.”

What Happens Next

While battles have continued in Zaporizhzhia, the fiercest fighting has been reported in the bordering Donetsk region. The most bitter clashes are likely to carry on in Donetsk as Russia tries to seize control of the city of Tokmak, the nearby town of Chasiv Yar and gains around the strategic settlement of Pokrovsk.