Russian Colonel Killed After Stepping on Land Mine During Morale-Boosting Mission in Ukraine

A Russian colonel visiting forces on the Ukrainian frontline with the intent of boosting morale has reportedly been killed.

Knewz.com has learned that Arman Ospanov, who headed up the armored division of the Russian airborne forces, allegedly stepped on a landmine and was instantly killed.

Russian colonel Arman Ospanov was reportedly killed by a land mine in Ukraine. By: Telegram/DON’T WAIT

Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor and a former deputy minister at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine relayed the news on his Telegram account saying:

“Russian Telegram channels report that Arman Ospanov, a Russian colonel and head of the armored service of the Russian Airborne Forces, went to the occupied territories of Ukraine to raise the morale of personnel. There, he stepped on a mine and died.”

The report was confirmed by a blogger NecroMancer:

“Head of the Armored Service of the Airborne Forces, Colonel Ospanov Arman Tolegenovich, born in 1972. 01/06/24 I went to the front, found myself a mine and blew myself up on it. Apparently, I owed a lot to the Kremlin Fuhrer. I could have been drinking vodka somewhere in Astana.”

Moscow-affiliated sources have since confirmed Colonel Arman Ospanov’s death saying he was killed by a landmine. By: MEGA

But one Telegram account that goes by the name of Spy Dossier offered a vastly different version of his death and claimed that Ospanov was visiting the 104th Airborne Assault Division where servicemen were trying to recover a BTR-82A armored personnel carrier.

Colonel Arman Ospanov is one of more than 3,000 senior Russian officials to die in the Ukraine war. Pictured is Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. By: MEGA

During the servicemen’s efforts, it is alleged that the towing cables being used snapped. Ospanov then “took the initiative and decided to personally deliver spare cables” to where they were needed.

“After the colonel arrived at the armored personnel carrier and began installing tow ropes, the evacuation group came under artillery fire from the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” the Telegram channel claimed.

“As a result of the strikes, the head of the armored service of the Airborne Forces, Colonel Ospanov Arman Tolegenovich, and the commander of the evacuation department of one of the units of the 104th Airborne Division, Sergeant Krasnov Alexander Anatolyevich, died on the spot.”

In addition to the deaths of the two officers, Spy Dossier notes that two privates by the names of Evstigneev and Eisner were injured too.

Another claim is that Arman Ospanov died trying to rescue a BTR-82A armored personnel carrier. By: Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation

X account @KilledInUkraine noted that as of January 6, no less than 3,373 senior Russian officers were killed in Ukraine.

While the highest ranking official to meet his demise in the war was a Lieutenant General, and the rank to suffer the most deaths were senior lieutenants (958), Ospanov was one of 82 colonels killed in Vladimir Putin’s efforts to beat Volodymyr Zelensky’s troops.