The first general of the Russian army during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine was killed in the town of Trostianets (Sumy region), Mayor of Trostianets Yuriy Bova has said.

"When already on March 10 [2022] we realized who we were dealing with: according to location, equipment, identification marks – we received a command to find out where their headquarters is located and defeat it. The first Russian general in this war died in Trostianets: he was hit from Bayraktar due to our tip-off. Then the Russians left Trostianets and began to run to the DPR," Bova told Interfax-Ukraine.

He also said the leadership of the Russian western military district entered Trostianets a few days after February 24, 2022.

"Two generals, many officers were in the building of the city council. These were precisely their military elites – the 20th general army, the first tank army, the Kantemirov and Taman divisions. They blocked Trostianets so that it was impossible to approach the town center at all," the mayor said.

"I am convinced that the Russians will not get a second such chance and will not enter our territory. Sumy region fought a worthy battle and did not allow huge columns of Russian equipment deep into the territory of Ukraine and to our capital. Since if they passed, and these are thousands of pieces of equipment, then I don't know if Kyiv would have held on then," Bova said.

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The interview with the Mayor of Trostianets, Yurii Bova, was prepared as part of a joint special project of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency and East Europe Foundation “Community Experience” (https://interfax.com.ua/news/general/919611.html), launched in support by the Stiykist’ Programme which is implemented by East Europe Foundation within a consortium of non-governmental organisations led by ERIM (Equal Rights and Independent Media, France) and funded by the European Union. Its purpose is to show the experience of Ukrainian communities in the adaptation and integration of forcibly displaced persons in order to increase the efficiency of the work of local self-government bodies. You can learn more about effective interaction with IDPs in the free online course "Adaptation and integration of IDPs: experience and opportunities" on the educational "Zrozumilo!" platform

The opinions and statements expressed in the material do not necessarily coincide with the views of the consortium partner organizations and the European Union.