General buried in Moscow identified as Valery Plokhotnyuk, likely killed in explosion at Aerospace Forces chief's birthday party
Russian Major General Valery Plokhotnyuk, buried in Moscow on August 5, appears to have died in an August 1 explosion at a restaurant where the commander of Russia's Aerospace Forces was celebrating his birthday. Independent outlets confirmed his death through state registry records.
Russian Major General Valery Plokhotnyuk was buried at Moscow's Troyekurovskoye Cemetery on August 5, according to the anonymous Telegram channel VChK-OGPU. Independent outlets Mediazona and Agentstvo confirmed his death using state registry records, which show one of his personal documents was invalidated on August 1 — the same day an explosion occurred at Moscow's Balzi Rossi restaurant, where a party was reportedly being held for the birthday of Alexander Chayko, commander-in-chief of Russia's Aerospace Forces.
Leaked personal data reviewed by Agentstvo suggests Plokhotnyuk was related to Chayko, though the exact nature of the relationship is unclear. One contact had saved the general's number under the name "Plokhotnyuk Valera, Masha's Godfather" — Masha being the name of Chayko's daughter. A relative of Plokhotnyuk had also been in contact with Chayko's wife and daughter on the Russian social network VK.
Second burial confirmed
VChK-OGPU also reported that Daniil Peredriy, Chayko's son-in-law and husband of his daughter Maria, was buried at the same cemetery on August 6. Blogger Anatoliy Shariy was the first to report his death, which journalists later confirmed through Russian state registries, showing that Peredriy, like Plokhotnyuk, died on August 1.
Plokhotnyuk had served as chief of staff of Russia's 49th Combined Arms Army since 2021, the year he was promoted to major general by Vladimir Putin. Since November 2022, he had been listed as an employee of the Academician Semenikhin Scientific Research Institute of Automatic Equipment, which develops control systems for both military and civilian applications.
Ukrainian OSINT blogger Necro Mancer found a message on August 5 in a local chat for Moscow's Solntsevo district announcing a farewell ceremony for Lieutenant General Igor Yerusalimov. VChK-OGPU initially believed Yerusalimov was the one buried at Troyekurovskoye Cemetery, but independent outlet Verstka reported on August 6 that reports of his death may have been a hoax.
