Spetsnaz Deputy Commander - Colonel
Unit: Special Purpose Center "Senezh", Special Operation Forces Command (SSO), Main Directorate of the General Staff (GRU)
Cargo ID: #1475
English Name: Nikita Aleksandrovich Klenkov
Russian Name: Кленков Никита Александрович
Date of Birth: 1980 (age: 44 years)
Place of Birth: Germany (while his father served as a Soviet army officer)
Date of Death: October 16, 2024 (via Drive-by Shooting)
Place of Death: Melenki, Solnechnogorsk District, Moscow Oblast, Russia
Previously Deployed: "Several" unspecified deployments
Klenkov returned home from the Ukrainian front only about a week before his death. On October 16, 2024, while driving through the village of Melenki (Solnechnogorsk district near Moscow), 44-year-old Colonel Klenkov was gunned down in a drive-by shooting. Eight bullets were fired at point-blank range through the windshield and driver’s side window, with a shot grouping of about 20 centimeters. Klenkov’s injured (or already weakened) leg remained pressed against the accelerator. The Hyundai then sped through two properties in the village of Melenki. It appears that upon colliding with one of the fences, the impact shook the vehicle, causing Klenkov’s foot to slip off the pedal.
When the car was discovered, it was still running and locked from the inside. Residents who ran out upon hearing the noise saw the Mitsubishi fleeing the scene at full speed. Several people might have been inside the vehicle.
Notably, the killer used fake license plates and apparently managed to escape despite a citywide interception plan being launched. Authorities are still searching for a gray 2012 Mitsubishi Outlander based on the issued descriptions. Russian investigators described the attack as a likely organized contract hit, noting the killer appears to have lain in wait for Klenkov.
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