Magyar confirms Russian general Anton Grunis killed in Donetsk Oblast — video

Brovdi announced the killing on Facebook on Sept. 16.

He also released video showing the attack on the site where Grunis was present. The Russian general was killed on Sept. 12, 2026, in the village of Kindrativka in Donetsk Oblast.

Grunis was killed at a Russian military position, Brovdi said.

“The seventh confirmed military commander at the level of a brigade commander, division commander or army commander eliminated by the ‘Birds’ of the Unmanned Systems Forces. This time, the Birds of the 427th Separate Unmanned Systems Brigade Rarog worked with precision,” Brovdi said.

Grunis commanded the 4th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade and held the rank of major general. Brovdi said Grunis reported the “complete capture of Kostiantynivka” to Putin in July 2026 and received the title “Hero of Russia.” Before the full-scale invasion, he also took part in the occupation of Crimea in 2014.

Open-source records indicate that Grunis graduated from the Kazan Suvorov Military School in 1996 before turning 17. He took part in the wars in Chechnya and against Georgia.

Grunis transferred to the reserves in 2021 but returned to the Russian military after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Under his command, Russian occupation forces operated in the Bakhmut and Kostiantynivka sectors.

The 4th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, military unit 40318, which Grunis commanded, was formed in 2014 from illegal armed groups of the so-called “Luhansk People’s Republic.”

On Sept. 14, several Russian media outlets reported that Ukraine’s Defense Forces had likely killed Russian Lt. Gen. Sergei Milchakov, who led operations to capture Avdiivka, New York and other settlements in Donetsk Oblast.