- Former Russian submarine commander shot dead while jogging
- Speculation of surveillance through fitness app
- Ukrainian suspect apprehended in connection with the murder
While walking in Krasnodar, southern Russia, a former submarine commander and mobilisation officer was shot and killed.
Several Russian media outlets speculated that 42-year-old Stanislav Rzhitsky’s profile on the Strava fitness app may have been monitored.
Russian investigators claim to have apprehended a suspect in conjunction with the murder.
Serhiy Denysenko, born in the Ukrainian city of Sumy in 1959, was identified as the suspect.
Multiple Russian Telegram channels asserted that Mr. Denysenko was the former president of the Ukrainian Karate Federation.
The Investigations Committee has also released a video of the alleged arrest. However, the man’s visage is obscured, making it difficult to confirm the individual’s identity.
Later, it allegedly published CCTV footage of Captain Rzhitsky running in the morning, pursued by a man on a bicycle.
The former naval officer was shot in the back and torso in a park close to the Olimp sports complex, according to the Russian daily newspaper Kommersant.
Baza, a Russian Telegram channel with close connections to the police, reported that the killer could have monitored Capt. Rzhitsky runs on Strava because he consistently ran the same route.
His address and personal information were also posted on the Ukrainian website Myrotvorets (Peacemaker), a massive unofficial database of individuals deemed to be Ukraine’s adversaries.
The word “liquidated” has been superimposed in red letters on his photograph on the website.
Ukraine’s military intelligence stated in a statement that the park was desolate due to heavy rainfall, “so there are no witnesses who could provide details or identify the assailant.
Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor to the Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior, tweeted that Russian media outlets were accusing Ukraine of involvement, but he did not indicate whether this suspicion was warranted.
According to Russian news website Mash, Captain Rzhitsky’s watch and headphones were found at the killing scene, ruling out robbery.
He commanded the Russian submarine Krasnodar, according to accounts.
According to Ukrainian media, he may have commanded the vessel that launched a missile attack on the city of Vinnytsia in July 2022, killing 28 people, including three children.
The Ukrainian administration blamed Black Sea submarine-launched Kalibr cruise missiles.
However, Capt. Rzhitsky’s father was quoted by Baza as saying that his son resigned from the Russian military in December 2021, before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
He subsequently became the Krasnodar region’s deputy mobilization officer.
