NINE of Vladimir Putin’s military commanders have now been killed in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
They are among the 12,000 Russian troops Ukraine now claims it has killed, as one Kremlin official has reportedly described the campaign to subdue its neighbour as a “clusterf***”.
Below are just a few of the invading Russian commanders shot by the Ukranian army snipers
General Andrei Sukhovetsky was killed by a sniper
General Andrei Sukhovetsky was killed by a sniper.…Credit: East2West
Vitaly Gerasimov has become the latest senior Russian commander to be killed
Lieutenant Colonel Denis Glebov died in the battle for ChuhuivCredit: Twitter
General Magomed Tushaev Credit: KADYROV_95
Lieutenant Colonel Dmitry Safronov also lost his life
Vladimir Zhonga led the Sparta Battalion, a Neo-Nazi military unit that has the Kremlin’s backing
The latest senior commander to die is Major General Vitaly Gerasimov, who was killed in fighting outside Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv.
Gerasimov was awarded a medal for “capturing” the disputed province of Crimea in 2014, and also received medals after leading troops in Syria and in the second Chechen war.
Three other top commanders have were killed in recent fighting in Ukraine.
DEAD RUSSIAN INVADING SOLDIERS IN UKRAINE
Lieutenant Colonel Dmitry Safronov, who led a Marine brigade, died along with Lieutenant Colonel Denis Glebov and Colonel Konstantin Zizevsky, who led air assault troops.
Safronov and Glebov were killed when Ukrainian forces have recaptured the city of Chuhuiv, while Zizevsky was killed in the south of Ukraine.
Their deaths come after those of other senior Russian commanders, including two other generals.
Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky was killed by a Ukrainian sniper during the fighting for Hostomel Airfield about 30 miles outside the capital Kyiv.
And General Magomed Tushaev died when his Chechen special forces column, including 56 tanks, was obliterated near Hostomel, north-east of the city.
The Chechen soldiers are known as “hunters” and each of them was reportedly given a pack of cards with senior Ukrainian officials that Moscow wants dead.
Also among the Russian dead is warlord Vladimir Zhonga who led the Sparta Battalion, a Neo-Nazi military unit that has the Kremlin’s backing.
🔵 Read our Russia – Ukraine live blog for the very latest updates
The group is behind a wave of deadly attacks against Ukrainian troops and has been waging war in the Donbass region since hostilities broke out eight years ago.
Two other unnamed Russian senior commanders have also been killed in the fighting.
Kremlin officials have allegedly made “apocalyptic” predictions about the conflict in Ukraine, describing the invasion on February 24 as a “mistake”.
They were “carefully enunciating the word clusterf***” when describing the invasion, Business Insider reports. CAPTURED RUSSIAN CONVOY OF TRUCKS WITH DEAD RUSSIANS
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed the ‘kill ever b*****d’ who was shooting and shelling Ukrainian civilians
- Zelenskyy is due to address British MPs today from his bunker as he remains defiant in Kyiv
- Peace talks continue after Russian issued three demands in an ultimatum – which were rejected by Ukraine
- Vladimir Putin has lost yet another general as his troops are reported to have been deserting from the invasion force
- Pictures show abandoned ‘Z’ tanks and burning Russian trucks as the Russia’s costly, grinding advance continues
- Civilians are facing a perilous journey to escape Ukraine – including one boy, 11, who travelled 750 miles on his own
- Brit ex-soldiers are heading to the frontline as they vow to help fight back against Russia
After the latest Russian setback, Ukrainian colonel Lieutenant General Serhiy Shaptala said his troops had seized Chuhuiv, killing large numbers of Putin’s men.
“In the course of hostilities, the city of Chuhuiv was liberated,” the General Staff said on Facebook.
“The occupiers suffered heavy losses in personnel and equipment.”
Footage from the scene shows a “Z” marked military vehicle with the Ukrainian flag while chanting can be heard.
In another clip, believed to have been filmed Chaplynka, Kakhovka Raion two men can be seen urinating on a Russian “Z” marked tank.
