1 of 2 Stanislav Rzhitsky in an undated image published in the sports app Strava Photo: Reproduction/Strava Stanislav Rzhitsky in an undated image published in the sports app Strava Photo: Reproduction/Strava
Russian military commander Stanislav Rzhitsky, 42, was on the unofficial list of enemies of Ukraine. He was commander of a submarine deployed in the Black Sea during the war that began in Ukraine about a year and a half ago.
On Monday morning (10) he was murdered in the Russian city of Krasnodar while running he was shot four times in the chest and died instantly. The assassins may have received information from the military commander himself.
Rzhitsky used the Strava sports app, which publishes detailed information about the runner’s location and how long it takes him to complete a lap.
A Russian news broadcaster on Telegram, Baza, claims that Rzhitsky regularly posted his runs to Strava, detailing the route he ran (almost always the same), distance, running pace and total training time.
2 of 2 Strava image shows sports activity of a murdered Russian commander Photo: Reproduction/Strava Strava image shows sports activity of a murdered Russian commander Photo: Reproduction/Strava
According to the Portal news agency, Baza is a communications channel that has sources in the Russian security services.
Russia accuses Ukraine of the murder, but Ukrainians deny any involvement and allege the commander was a target of Russian dissidents.
Who was the commander using Strava?
According to Russian state media and bloggers covering the war, Rzhitsky was the deputy leader of military mobilization in the city of Krasnodar and had previously commanded a submarine in the Black Sea.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the submarine he commanded was dieselpowered and built for combat with ships and other submarines, as well as for reconnaissance missions and laying explosive mines.
A Telegram channel by Ukraine supporters claims without evidence that Rzhitsky was suspected of being linked to a submarinelaunched attack on Ukraine that killed at least 23 people in July 2022.
Ukrainians have a website called Myrotvorets (Peacemakers), which publishes a list of enemies of Ukraine (officially, this website is not affiliated with the government of Ukraine). Some of Rzhitsky’s data appeared on this site. This Tuesday, the word “settled” appears in red letters on Rzhitsky’s profile.
At least two other people at the site have been murdered on Russian soil since the beginning of the war:
- Journalist Darya Dugina, August 2022;
- Prowar blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, April 2023.