Vladimir Putin has been rocked by news that two of his top commanders were killed on Sunday (May 14) amid the battle for Ukraine’s eastern city of Bakhmut.
The Russian Defence Ministry said Commander Vyacheslav Makarov of the 4th Motorized Rifle Brigade and Deputy Commander Yevgeny Brovko from another unit were killed in combat, defending Ukraine’s counter-offensive.
The bloody battle has been an ongoing situation for a year and has seen troops from both nations fighting with bayonets at times.
Announcing the fatalities, the Ministry confirmed Makarov was leading troops from the front line at the time of his death, whilst Brovko died “heroically, suffering multiple shrapnel wounds”.
Military command deaths have rarely been announced in daily briefings, since several senior officers were killed in the early stages of the conflict, which began in February 2022.
READ MORE: Zelensky says Ukraine is not attacking Russian territory in counter-offensive
Sunday also saw a mushroom cloud erupt over the western Ukrainian city of Khmelnytskyi amid a huge fireball attack on an ammunition silo.
Russia reportedly sent 21 drones as part of the offensive, 17 of which were downed by Ukraine, with four succesfully striking targets in the city.
In the aftermath of the blast officials said despite “nearly 30 being injured miraculously only two had needed to go to hospital”.
A Russian pro-war source told MailOnline: “We are seeking to destroy the weapons and ammunition stockpiled by Ukraine from Nato countries.
“This is a big strike but we need more because we know Ukraine now has superior military firepower to us in many areas.”
Confirming the news, Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said: “Unfortunately, not all drones were destroyed that night – 17 out of 21 UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles). There were four hits in Khmelnytskyi region.”
Elsewhere it was reported by Russian separatists that UK-supplied Storm Shadow cruise missiles have been used by Ukraine for the first time.
Volodymyr Zelensky’s forces used the projectiles against targets in the east of the country, the Luhansk People’s Republic claimed in a series of posts on their Telegram channel.
Footage appeared to show Vladimir Putin ally Viktor Vodolatsky, 65, his face bloodied, being led out of a building which was hit by one missile.
The LPR’s statement said: “According to updated information, on May 12, 2023, during a missile attack on the city of Luhansk the Ukrainian armed forces used two Storm Shadow cruise missiles (produced by the UK and France) and one ADM-160B MALD missile (produced by the US).”