HUNTED DOWN
Putin loses yet another commander as treacherous secret service Ukrainian colonel dies in missile strike
He commanded a top secret base crucial for Putin's army
A TREACHEROUS Ukrainian colonel who defected to Russia was killed by a missile strike in another blow to Vladimir Putin.
Lieutenant-colonel Alexander Kulakov, 38, died after the missiles ripped through a top secret air defence base in annexed Crimea.
5
5
5
The colonel commanded a military unit No.85683 - the key Russian long range reconnaissance and targeting station.
He died alongside his comrade after Ukrainian forces unleashed British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles on the secret base.
The Russian armed forces have not admitted the loss, nor publicly acknowledged the damage to the key listening post.
But an obituary, posted on the day of his funeral, confirmed Kulakov's death.
read more on world news
Mayor of Alushta, Galina Ogneva, wrote in the eulogy: "He heroically died…as a result of a missile attack on Crimea.
“The courage and bravery of Alexander [Kulakov] evoked pride in everyone who knew him.
“His name will forever remain in our hearts….
“Eternal memory to the Hero who gave his life for the safety and future of our Crimea.”
Most read in The Sun
Kulakov was branded a deserter and traitor after he joined Vlad's forces during Russia's invasion of the peninsula in 2014.
Mirotvorets website which lists “enemies of Ukraine” said: "Kulakov switched to the side of the Russian aggressors, accepted Russian citizenship, and entered the service of the occupiers.”
Satellite images show destroyed Russian warplanes in Crimea after Ukrainian hammering
He was wanted under the Ukrainian criminal code.
The latest strike is believed to have caused extensive damage to the air defence base which is part of the 3rd Radio Engineering Regiment of the Russian Armed Forces.
The giant golf-ball domes at Ai-Petri are used for long range reconnaissance and air defence guidance, crucial to the Russian military.
Ukrainian army has deployed Storm Shadow missiles, supplied by Britain and France, on several occasions to sabotage Putin's war machine.
Assasination attempts on treacherous Ukrainian officers
Ukraine has also long been targeting Russian collaborators who sympathise with the warmonger in the occupied territories of Ukraine.
Within the first six months of combat action in the Russian-occupied territories, there have been 25 assassination attempts on Pro-Putin officials.
RTVI reported that 12 of those attempts resulted in death and seven people were wounded.
Last November, two of Putin's security officials were blown up in a car bombing in the Russian-held eastern city of Luhansk.
Both deputy interior minister Lt-Col Oleg Shumilov and criminal investigations chief Lt-Col Vladimir Pakholenko were taken to hospital with serious shrapnel wounds after the explosion.
Putin's crony, who was head of an educational centre pumping out Russian propaganda to children, was also killed by a car bomb.
Most recently, Vlad's "torturer" was killed after his car was ripped apart by bomb in an apparent revenge attack.
Yevhen Ananyevsky was dubbed a "traitor" by Ukraine after organising the torture chamber for prisoners of war.
Earlier, a former Ukrainian intelligence officer who defected to Russia was blown up in a car bomb assassination bid in Moscow.
Vasily Prozorov reportedly moved to Russia "a few years ago" and has been cooperating with the Russian intelligence service since 2014.
He miraculously survived the attack after his SUV exploded, leaving the controversial colonel with arm and leg wounds.
The £800,000 bunker-busting cruise missiles are known for their skills in dodging air defence systems and using GPS to precisely hit targets.
Last June, another top Russian army general was struck by the British rocket in Zaporizhzhia region.
Major-General Sergey Goryachev, 52, was killed alongside other senior officers on the Vremievsky Ledge.
Russia has previously admitted that Britain's Storm Shadow rockets are a nightmare and "certainly give us trouble".
Yevgeniy Balitsky, Kremlin-appointed governor in occupied Zaporizhzhia said: “We’ve somehow learned how to shoot down US-supplied HIMARS, but our air defence is having a hard time against Storm Shadow.
"It flies at different speeds, at varying altitudes, changing modes.”
READ MORE SUN STORIES
The Sun exclusively reported that Ukraine plans to launch Storm Shadow missiles to destroy Putin's most beloved bridge in Crimea by mid-July.
A weapons expert said that raining hell on the £3billion structure with British rockets, sea drones and F-16s could finally sever Russia's only land bridge to Crimea.
5
5
Topics