President Vladimir Putin has reportedly lost a 15th top commander since the start of his war with Ukraine.
Colonel Alexei Sharov became the latest high-ranking Russian official to die in what has become the country’s biggest loss of military higher-ups since World War II. His death was announced by Ukrainian armed forces on social media Tuesday.
As the war in Ukraine approaches its fourth week, Russia has reportedly been rocked by the deaths of a number of leading military figures. Ukraine intelligence and Western officials have been detailing the death of Russian generals and other leading officers since the invasion, some of which have later been confirmed by Russia.
Colonel Sergei Sukharev was “liquidated” by Ukrainian forces, the country’s Centre for Strategic Communication and Information Security said. He is the fourth confirmed Russian general to be taken out since the invasion began, while Ukraine claims it has killed a fifth.
The death of the commander of the 331st Guards Parachute Assault Regiment from Kostroma will serve another blow to Mr. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, which analysts say is not going as well as he had hoped.
Multiple members of the regiment, considered to be among Russia’s most elite fighting forces, were slain in the same operation. Ukrainian reports said his deputy Major Sergei Krylov, was killed alongside him.
Colonel Sharov is the latest top Russian officer to die in Ukraine. His death follows that of Colonel Nikolay Ovrachenko while Major General Vitaly Gerasimov is one of the most senior Russian casualties.
Colonel Nikolay Ovcharenko, part of the 1st Guards Tank Army, reportedly died in a Ukrainian attack near the eastern city of Izyum. He was overseeing a pontoon bridge over the Siverskyi Donets River when he was killed in an ambush which reportedly left 18 Russians dead and 46 wounded.
The attack is believed to have happened earlier this week. Ukraine’s defense intelligence agency said that its military forces had killed Russian Army Major General Vitaly Gerasimov, along with a number of other senior officers.
Ukraine claimed that Gerasimov and the other officers were killed during a fight near Kharkiv. If confirmed, Gerasimov would be the second Russian general from the 41st Army to die within a week amid the ongoing conflict.
Russian media and President Vladimir Putin confirmed that General Andrei Sukhovetsky, deputy commander of the 41st Combined, was killed by a sniper during a special operation in Ukraine.
Sukhovetsky, who was also the head of the 7th Airborne Division, was said to have been killed alongside an unnamed divisional commander and a regimental commander.
Sukhovetsky’s comrade-in-arms Sergey Chipilev confirmed his death in a post on social media.point 211 |
Chipilev wrote: “With great pain, we learned the tragic news of the death of our friend, Major General Andrey Sukhovetsky, on the territory of Ukraine during the special operation.point 158 | We express our deepest condolences to his family.point 200 | ”point 207 | 1
Putin also acknowledged the general’s death during a publicly broadcast speech on March 2 while updating the Russian people on the progress of the Ukraine conflict.
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