The general noticed by Putin died two weeks after receiving the Hero of Russia star
Grunis reported on the situation on the front line to President Vladimir Putin personally at least twice, and the president praised him in public.
The general who caught Putin's attention died two weeks after receiving the Hero of Russia star
Major General Anton Grunis, commander of the 4th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade with the call sign "Grozny," died near the front line just two weeks after receiving the Hero of Russia star from Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov. Grunis had personally reported on the situation at the front to President Vladimir Putin at least twice, and the president had publicly praised him.
Russian Z-blogger Anastasia Kashevarova hinted at the death of the high-ranking Russian officer near the front line on the night between Saturday and Sunday (September 12-13). "Tonight, the front lost one of its Heroes. Until there is official information, I will not report it," she wrote on her Telegram channel on the morning of September 13.
The following day, an obituary about the general's death was published on the "Suvorovskoye bratstvo" Telegram channel, dedicated to graduates of the Kazan Suvorov Military School (which Grunis had graduated from). His name was not mentioned in the post.
On September 15, the death of Grunis (mentioning his name) was reported by the Russian government-influenced and military-focused Anna News agency, citing an anonymous source in the 4th Motorized Rifle Brigade.
The only official information confirming Grunis's death remains a Telegram post by Lieutenant General Apti Alaudinov, Deputy Chief of the Main Military-Political Directorate of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and commander of the "Akhmat" unit. "To our great regret, Major General Anton Grunis 'Grozny' has departed to the other world," Alaudinov wrote on September 16.
He did not disclose details, stating only that he "died heroically, fulfilling his sacred duty to the end."
The phones of Grunis, his biological brother, as well as his close relatives, were turned off or did not answer.
In her post, Kashevarova suggested that he died as a result of a military strike, and that the Armed Forces of Ukraine learned of his location through information leaked by "their own."
Meanwhile, Robert Brovdi ("Madyar"), commander of the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces, announced that Grunis was killed on September 12, 2024, in the Donetsk region as a result of a Ukrainian drone strike.