New Delhi: As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters the fourth week, multiple reports — including from Russia and Ukraine — indicate that the nation’s military has lost some of its most senior officers to the conflict.
Ukraine claims to have killed five generals of Russia’s military have been killed in Ukraine. These include four major generals and one lieutenant general.
Some estimates suggest as many as 20 generals were deployed to lead Russia’s onslaught in Ukraine.
The deaths have led to questions about why senior-ranking officers have been stationed on the frontlines of battle.
The deaths of Russia’s high-ranking officers have given rise to the belief that Ukraine could be specifically attacking such officers.
According to a report in the BBC, which quotes experts and an insider in Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s circle, a specific Ukrainian military intelligence team has focused on targeting Russia’s senior officer class.
This could be seen as part of a tactic by the Ukrainian military to offset their numerical disadvantages by taking control of the narrative and information war through the killing of senior officers while also dampening the morale of the Russian troops.
Some of the high-ranking Russian officers to have reportedly been killed are:
Major General Oleg Mityaev
Major General Oleg was the commander of Russian Army’s 150th motorised rifle division, created in 2016. He is reported to have died close to Mariupol, killed by the far-right Azov regiment.
Major General Andrei Kolesnikov
Major General Kolesnikov, commander of the 29th combined army, was reportedly killed in battle on 11 March. The circumstances behind his death have not been reported yet.
Major General Vitaly Gerasimov
Gerasimov, chief of staff of Russia’s 41st combined army, was allegedly killed on 7 March outside the eastern city of Kharkiv. Ukraine released footage that it said showed Russian officers discussing Gerasimov’s death. Gerasimov was part of the second Chechen war, the Russian campaign in Syria, and their annexation of Crimea.
Major General Andrey Sukhovetsky
Sukhovetsky was the deputy commander of Russia’s 41st combined army, the same unit as Major General Gerasimov. Sukhovetsky was also commanding general of the Russian 7th Airborne Division.
He was reported to have been killed by a sniper shot.
Lieutenant General Andrei Mordvichev
Andrei Mordvichev was the commander of the 8th general army of the Southern Military District of the Russian Armed Forces. He is reported to have died in firing by the Ukraine army, as stated on their Twitter. Mordvichev was reported to have been killed near Ukraine’s Kherson Airport.
Deputy Commander Andrey Paliy
Russian senator from Sevastopol, Yekaterina Altabayeva, announced on her Telegram channel Sunday that Andrey Paliy, 51-year-old deputy commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, had died in the battle for Mariupol.
Paliy had graduated from the Kyiv Military Naval School of Politics in 1992. However, he reportedly refused to serve for Ukraine, and instead joined the Russian Northern Navy. He also took part in the 2008 Georgia War.
Lieutenant Colonel Dimitry Safronov
Lieutenant Colonel Dmitry Safronov, Commander of the 61st separate marine brigade, was killed when Ukraine recaptured Chuhuiv, according to a statement from Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence.
Lieutenant Colonel Denis Glebov
The Ukraine Ministry of Defence announced the killing of Lieutenant Colonel Denis Glebov, deputy commander of the 11th separate airborne assault. Russian media reported that he died in a “special operation” in Donbas and was awarded the Order of Courage posthumously.
Lack of clarity on Russian troop losses
While reports suggest that Russia has lost high-ranking officers, there is a lack of clarity on the extent of these losses, including total troop deaths.
Official figures from Russia’s Ministry of Defence put the losses at 498. However, the Russian estimates have not been updated since 2 March.
Some US intelligence estimates suggest 7,000 Russian troops have been killed, while others estimate about 3,000 deaths.
It is tough to determine the exact number of losses as there is no clear-cut method of doing so.
Estimates so far have relied on open-source reporting from non-governmental organisations, satellite imagery, data from Ukraine’s government and intercepted communications of the Russian government.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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