A third Russian general has been killed in Ukraine in the space of eight days in another setback for Vladimir Putin’s invasion, according to officials.
Major General Andrei Kolesnikov, of the 29th Combined Arms Army, is the latest high profile casualty in the war, Ukraine’s government announced today.
It comes four days after the killing of Major General Vitaly Gerasimov – the first deputy commander of Russia’s 41st army.
And before that, Andrei Sukhovetsky, deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army of the Central Military District, was also killed in battle.
It is thought 20 Russian generals are taking part in Moscow’s invasion, which has dragged on for longer than expected.
Day 16 into the invasion – some units are running low and fuel and supplies, as Western leaders claimed Putin had failed to secure a swift victory as expected.
Russia’s military are said to have made limited progress in the last 24 hours, although a 40 mile long convoy is now on the move again after stalling outside Kyiv for over a week.
![Major General Vitaly Petrovich Gerasimov (Russian: ??????? ???????? ?????????; 9 July 1977[citation needed]) was a Russian Ground Forces military leader, major general, chief of staff and first deputy commander of the 41st Army of the Central Military District of Russia. Ukraine's Ministry of Defence claims Gerasimov was killed in Kharkiv Oblast during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. When he allegedly died, he held the rank of chief of staff and first deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army. Gerasimov took part in the second Chechen war and the Russian military operation in Syria. He received a medal for the](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/SEI_92164589.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=334)
Putin’s forces have now lost more tanks than are currently operational in entire German army.
And the death of Kolesnikov, if confirmed, will mean as many Russian Major Generals have been killed in two weeks than during the entire Syrian civil war, in which Putin helped prop up Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Claiming in a tweet to have killed Kolesnikov, Ukraine’s military said: ‘The Russian invaders continue to lose their officers in the war against Ukraine’.
A number of journalists reported that anonymous Western officials had also confirmed a third Russian general had been killed in battle in Ukraine.
Yesterday Ukraine claimed that Russia had lost over 12,000 soldiers, as well as heavy weaponry, including 49 fighter jets, 81 helicopters, and 335 tanks.
But these numbers could not be independently verified and differ greatly from Russia’s own estimates on its losses.
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