5 Top Soviet Generals Die in Air Crash; No Details Are Made Public

Five generals who served on the general staff or in command positions of a Soviet army group were killed in an air crash, the Defense Ministry newspaper said Friday.

The report in the newspaper Red Star said the five officers and two flight officers died Monday. It did not say where or how the crash occurred.

Obituaries for the two flight officers--a helicopter pilot and flight engineer--indicated the aircraft was a helicopter.

The newspaper carried obituaries on Col. Gen. Vladimir P. Shutov, 63, most recently listed as deputy chief of a main directorate of the military general staff, headquartered in Moscow; and Lt. Gen. Kiril N. Trofimov, 66, deputy chief of communications of the Soviet armed forces.

Red Star also listed obituaries on Lt. Gen. Yuri I. Ryabinin, 53, who it said served in “responsible positions on the general staff;” Maj. Gen. Erlen V. Porfiryev, 51, chief of staff of the southern group of the armies, and Maj. Gen. Vladimir S. Bardashevski, 49, who “recently occupied a responsible position on the general staff of the Soviet armed forces.”

Aghanistan ‘Ruled Out’

Porfiryev’s position with the southern group suggested the crash occurred in the southeast border region, which includes the area between the Soviet Union and Afghanistan.