--- title: "Zelensky Veiledly Confirmed 'Retribution' Against General Varpakhovich, Who Ordered the Strike on Okhmatped" description: "Zelensky veiledly confirmed on Telegram that Ukraine had \"reached\" General Varpakhovich, who ordered the strike on Okhmatped: in Saratov region he was shot twice from a motorcycle." date: 2026-09-03T18:26:01.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/zelensky-veiledly-confirms-retribution-against-general-varpakhovich-for-strike-on-okhmatped tags: [ukraine, volodymyr-zelensky, okhmatdet, war-crimes, satu-bu, saratov-region] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # Zelensky Veiledly Confirmed 'Retribution' Against General Varpakhovich, Who Ordered the Strike on Okhmatped ![Volodymyr Zelensky in a black turtleneck at his laptop amid statement on retribution for General Varpakhovych over the Okhmatdet strike](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/03/zelenskyi-oznachil-vozmezdie-generalu-varpakhovichu-za-udar-po-ohmatdetu/zelenskyi-oznachil-vozmezdie-generalu-varpakhovichu-za-udar-po-ohmatdetu-1.webp) ## 🎯 Key Points - Zelensky stated on Telegram that Ukraine will find every war criminal, and veiledly pointed to "retribution" on the territory of the Saratov region. - In Saratov region, an unknown person on a motorcycle fired twice at Major General Nikolai Varpakhovich, who was hospitalized in a serious condition. - According to the SBU, Varpakhovich ordered the strike on Okhmatped on July 8, 2024; on August 31, 2026, he was notified of suspicion in absentia. - Officially, two people were killed as a result of the strike, and additionally a boy in intensive care died after being transported. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated in his Telegram channel that Ukraine will find every war criminal who attacked civilians with missiles and drones, and all the more so those who sought to take children's lives. According to RBC-Ukraine, in this statement the head of state veiledly indicated that Kyiv had managed to "reach" the Russian general who commanded the missile strike on the Okhmatped children's hospital in Kyiv on July 8, 2024. ### The President's Statement and the Hint at Saratov "Wherever Russian criminals are hiding, they will be found, and today there is further confirmation of this fact — confirmation on the territory of the Saratov region," Zelensky said. The president did not name the general directly, however the geographic reference to Russia's Saratov region and the context of the statement clearly point to the recent attack on a senior military officer, which RBC-Ukraine had previously reported. According to the outlet, in Saratov region an unknown person on a motorcycle fired twice at Russian Major General Nikolai Varpakhovich. The officer sustained facial and bodily injuries and was hospitalized in a serious condition. Zelensky thus publicly linked this incident to the responsibility for the strike on the children's medical facility. ### Who Is Nikolai Varpakhovich According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), it was Major General Nikolai Varpakhovich who ordered the strike on the Okhmatped children's hospital in Kyiv, and who is also implicated in other war crimes. On August 31, 2026, the SBU, together with the Office of the Prosecutor General, formally notified Varpakhovich in absentia of suspicion of involvement in the missile strike on Okhmatped. Thus, the in-absentia indictment and the subsequent presidential statement form a sequential chronology: first the legal qualification of the act, then the public acknowledgment of "retribution" on Russian territory. ### Victims of the Strike on Okhmatped According to official data, two people were killed as a result of the missile strike on the children's hospital — a young doctor and the grandfather of one of the young patients. In addition, a boy who was in critical condition in the intensive care unit at the time of the strike died; after the shelling he was transported to one of Kyiv's hospitals, where he died. These circumstances make the case one of the most resonant in the context of attacks on civilian infrastructure and children. ### Contradictory Data The open formulations contain an inconsistency in the count of victims: in some fragments of the official position the figure "two killed" (the doctor and the grandfather) is cited, while in others the death of the boy who was in intensive care and died after being transported is added. That is, the total number of victims may be interpreted as two direct fatalities from the strike, or as three when accounting for the child's subsequent death. Moreover, Zelensky did not name the general or give the exact date of the attack in Saratov, limiting himself to a veiled "confirmation on the territory of the Saratov region," whereas the direct attribution of the incident to Varpakhovich relies on SBU and RBC-Ukraine data, not on a direct presidential statement. ### Significance of the Statement Zelensky's remarks should be viewed as a public political framing around the in-absentia indictment and the incident in Saratov region: Kyiv is effectively asserting its ability to reach those responsible for attacks on civilians even on Russian territory. At the same time, the legally key element remains the in-absentia suspicion notified to Varpakhovich on August 31, 2026, while the link between the shots fired at the general and his role in the strike on Okhmatped is confirmed at the level of intelligence services and media, rather than through a direct presidential acknowledgment. ## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification - [Zelensky Hints at Retribution Against the General Who Commanded the Shelling of Okhmatped](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/zelenskiy-natyaknuv-vidplatu-generalu-shcho-1788459698.html) - Источник подтверждает заявление Зеленского в Telegram, инцидент с выстрелами в генерал-майора Николая Варпаховича в Саратовской области, данные СБУ о его причастности к удару по «Охматдету» 8 июля 2024 года, заочное сообщение о подозрении 31 августа 2026 года и официальную информацию о погибших. Оговорка: формулировка президента завуалирована, имя генерала не названо напрямую; подсчет жертв содержит нюанс (два погибших + умерший мальчик). ## ❓ FAQ ### Q: Who was Zelensky referring to when he spoke of "retribution on the territory of the Saratov region"? **A:** According to RBC-Ukraine and the SBU, this refers to Major General Nikolai Varpakhovich, who was shot twice in Saratov region by an unknown person on a motorcycle. Zelensky did not name him, but the geographic reference and context point to this incident. ### Q: What does the Okhmatped children's hospital have to do with this? **A:** According to the SBU, it was Varpakhovich who ordered the missile strike on Okhmatped in Kyiv on July 8, 2024. On August 31, 2026, the SBU and the Office of the Prosecutor General notified him in absentia of suspicion of involvement in this strike. ### Q: How many people were killed as a result of the strike on Okhmatped? **A:** Officially, two people were killed as a result of the strike — a young doctor and the grandfather of one of the patients. In addition, a boy in critical condition in intensive care died after being transported to one of Kyiv's hospitals. ### Q: Did Zelensky directly confirm that the shots were fired at Varpakhovich? **A:** No, the president limited himself to a veiled "confirmation on the territory of the Saratov region." The direct link between the incident and Varpakhovich, and his role in the strike on the hospital, relies on SBU data and an RBC-Ukraine publication.