Kyiv announced Major General Andrei Kolesnikov of the 29th Combined Arms Army as the latest high profile casualty of the war. His reported death comes four days after the killing of Major General Vitaly Gerasimov, first deputy commander of Russia’s 41st army
Last week, Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky – deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army of the Central Military District – was reportedly killed.
According to Ukraine’s Interfax news agency, Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, wrote on Telegram on Friday: “The good news is that Major General Andrei Kolesnikov, Commander of the 29th Army of the Eastern Military District, became the KIA today.”
It is understood that 20 Russian generals are taking part in Putin’s invasion which has also seen 173 tanks, 12 aircraft and 345 troop carriers lost.
The news of Kolesnikov’s death comes as satellite pictures showed Russian forces, who have been bearing down on Kyiv, regrouping northwest of the Ukrainian capital.
Britain said it could be preparation for an assault on the city within days.
The Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence update: “Russia is likely seeking to reset and re-posture its forces for renewed offensive activity in the coming days. This will probably include operations against the capital Kyiv.”
The update added that Russian ground forces were still making only limited progress, hampered by persistent logistical issues and Ukrainian resistance.
Kyiv accused Moscow of hitting a psychiatric hospital near the eastern town of Izyum on Friday, in what the regional governor described as a brutal attack on civilians.
Emergency services said no one was hurt because the patients were already sheltering in the basement.
READ MORE ABOUT A UK LIST OF ‘PROBABLE’ NUCLEAR TARGETS
The UN human rights office (OHCHR) said on Friday it has confirmed the deaths of 564 civilians in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began on February 24. The total includes 41 children.
However, the real toll is thought to be considerably higher since OHCHR has not yet been able to corroborate reports from areas where intense hostilities are ongoing. Most died from the use of explosive weapons, including heavy artillery shelling, missile and air strikes.
Major General Vitaly Gerasimov took part in the second Chechen war, the Russian military operation in Syria and the annexation of Crimea.
According to reports, he was the son of Valery Gerasimov, the Chief of General Staff of Russia’s armed forces.
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Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky died during a special operation in Ukraine, according to his comrade-in-arms Sergey Chipilev on social media.
He was shot and killed by a sniper near Mariupol, which has been under a brutal siege by Russian forces.
Kyiv says its forces have killed more than 12,000 Russian troops. The Kremlin has confirmed about 500 losses. Neither side has disclosed the number of Ukrainian casualties.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Centre for Strategic Communications said on Friday that it could not rule out that Belarus would launch an invasion of the country after a meeting in Moscow between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.
The centre, which was established under the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, said in a statement: “According to preliminary data, Belarusian troops may be drawn into an invasion on March 11 at 21:00 (7pm GMT).”