Russia has confirmed the burial of Colonel Sergei Ilyin, commander of the 155th Marine Brigade, days after reports emerged of a Ukrainian HIMARS strike that allegedly killed him along with 21 others at a command post in Kursk Oblast. Independent outlet Astra cites officials in Chuvash Republic, although the cause of death remains undisclosed. The same attack reportedly killed Major General Mikhail Gudkov.
The 155th Brigade has long been accused of war crimes in Bucha and Irpin, heightening the symbolic weight of Ilyin’s death. Ukrainian officials have not officially commented. Kyiv’s broader cross-border campaign in Kursk Oblast, launched in 2024, has claimed tens of thousands of Russian casualties. Russian forces, with help from North Korea, reclaimed much of the territory earlier this year. The Kremlin remains silent on the incident, even as its high-ranking military leadership continues to be decimated by precision Ukrainian strikes.
