VLADIMIR Putin has reportedly lost a 15th top commander since the start of his war with Ukraine.
The death of Colonel Alexei Sharov comes as Russia continues to suffer its worst massacre of military brass since World War Two.
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Sharov was commander of the 810th Guards Separate Order of Zhukov Brigade of Russia’s marine corps.
He was killed Mariupol, where more than 200,000 people are trapped in the southern Ukrainian city.
The city is being laid to waste by Vladimir Putin’s besieging forces, who are battling fierce Ukrainian resistance.
Sharov’s death was revealed by Ukrainian army officer Anatoliy Stefan on his social media accounts.
Russian troops have been pounding Mariupol and have reportedly broken through three defensive lines with fighting now raging in the centre.
Civilians there have been living in apocalyptic conditions with kids dying of thirst as people drink radiator water and eat dogs.
Russia has now admitted it has lost nearly 10,000 troops in its invasion of Ukraine.
Sharov’s death follows that of Colonel Nikolay Ovcharenko, Commander of the 45th Engineering Regiment.
He was allegedly killed alongside 18 of his comrades in a major offensive in Ukraine.
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Russia’s previously undisclosed total death toll figure was revealed by a pro-Kremlin newspaper and lays bare the true cost of Putin‘s disastrous invasion.
The Russian tyrant expected a swift victory when he ordered the invasion but his forces have met stiff Ukrainian resistance and could even soon buckle.
Russia has kept its true death toll under wraps and on March 2 admitted to just 498 deaths.
But in an extraordinary move, Komsomolskaya Pravda reported that according to the Russian defence ministry 9,861 Russian soldiers have died in Ukraine and 16,153 injured.
The true figure may be far higher, as Ukrainian military sources claim to have killed more than 15,000 Russian soldiers.
It is reported that Russia is secretly transporting corpses of fallen Russian soldiers home at night on trains and ambulances via Belarus, to try and hide the true scale of the death toll.
The loss of top brass is most damaging for the Russians, with Foreign Policy reporting that the Kremlin is suffering its highest casualty rate among top brass since the Second World War.
These are Russia’s top brass killed in the conflict so far.
COL NIKOLAY OVCHARENKO
Colonel Nikolay Ovcharenko, part of the 1st Guards Tank Army, reportedly died in a Ukrainian attack near the eastern city of Izyum.
He was overseeing a pontoon bridge over the Siverskyi Donets River when he was killed in an ambush which reportedly left 18 Russians dead and 46 wounded.
The attack is believed to have happened earlier this week.
MAJ GEN VITALY GERASIMOV
One of Vladimir Putin’s top commanders, Major General Vitaly Gerasimov was killed in fighting outside of Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv on March 7 at the age of 44.
He was the second Russian commander to be assassinated in the space of a week.
Ukraine’s Defence Ministry said Gerasimov, chief of staff of the 41st Army, was killed alongside other senior officers outside 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.
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MAJ GEN ANDREI KOLESNIKOV
Major General Andrei Kolesnikov of the 29th Combined Arms Army was killed on March 11, Ukraine’s defence ministry said.
He was the third Russian general officer to be killed since the start of the conflict, according to NATO officials.
Writing on Telegram, Ukrainian government spokesman Anton Gerashchenko said: “The good news is that Major General Andrei Kolesnikov, Commander of the 29th Army of the Eastern Military District, became the KIA today.”
The exact circumstances behind his death are unknown.
MAJ GEN ANDREI SUKHOVETSKY
Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky was the first Russian commander to be killed since the beginning of the invasion on February 24.
He was reportedly killed at the battle for Hostomel Airfield about 30 miles outside the capital Kyiv.
His death on February 28 took place amid heavy fighting for the airport, as Russia tried to make early gains in the war.
The death of Gen Sukhovetsky, 47, was announced by a Russian veterans’ group and on social media by his colleague Sergey Chipilyov.
A military source confirmed that he was killed by a sniper.
The Syria war veteran, commissioned as an officer in 1995, was commanding the elite 7th Guards Airborne Division.
Another source said: “He was famed for leading missions in hostile territory.”
LT GEN ANDREI MORDVICHEV
Lieutenant-General Andrei Mordvichev, commander of the 8th Combined Arms Army, died in fighting at Chornobaivka Airfield, near the southern city of Kherson on March 16.
It’s thought the military boss, 46, was killed in the Russian-controlled Kherson Airport, which was hit with several days of intensive Ukranian strikes.
A statement from the army general staff in Kyiv read: “As a result of fire on the enemy by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the commander of the 8th All-Military Army of the Southern Military District of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Lieutenant-General Andrei Mordvichev was killed.”
RUSSIA’S SLAIN COMMANDERS
Putin’s top brass killed since the invasion of Ukraine
- Lieutenant General Andrei Mordvichev
- Major General Vitaly Gerasimov
- Major General Andrei Kolesnikov
- Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky
- Colonel Nikolay Ovcharenko
- Colonel Sergei Porokhyna
- Colonel Sergei Sukharev
- Colonel Andrei Zakharov
- Colonel Konstantin Zizevsky
- Lieutenant Colonel Yuri Agarkov
- Lieutenant Colonel Denis Glebov
- Lieutenant Colonel Dmitry Safronov
- Major Viktor Maksimchuk
- General Magomed Tushaev
- Captain Andrey Paliy
- Captain Alexey Glushchak
- Colonel Alexei Sharov
It comes as Ukraine claims Russian troops are set to run out of food, fuel and ammunition in just three days and the war could be over in weeks, Ukraine has claimed.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence said Russia’s advance remained stalled overnight as Vladimir Putin’s troops face growing supply problems and fierce resistance from Ukrainian forces.
The ministry said Ukrainian forces carried out a series of “devastating strikes” on Russian troops and “conducted air battles and intercepted air targets” in the last 24 hours.
And intelligence suggests Russia’s forces now only have enough food for another three days.
It said in a statement: “According to the available information, Russian occupation forces operating on the territory of Ukraine have ammunition and food supplies for no more than three days.
“The situation is similar with fuel, which is replenished by tank trucks. The occupiers were unable to organize a pipeline to meet the needs of the grouping of troops.”
Putin expected a quick victory when he ordered the invasion on February 23 – but his forces have faced fierce resistance.
The invasion has seen Russian pilots blasted out of the sky, tanks ambushed and videos of sobbing soldiers after surrendering to the Ukrainians.
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