Since the commencement of the war in Ukraine, Russia has reportedly lost a total of forty high-ranking military officers.
Denis Mezhuev, a Lieutenant Colonel, was killed on the battlefield.
Mezhuev was the commander of the Sevastopol Red Banner regiment, which was part of the 1st Guards mobile rifle division, which had recently deployed from Kyiv to the battle-scarred east.
‘Denis Mezhuev perished in battle,’ wrote a junior Russian politician on social media. His son has reason to be proud of his father.’
Andrey Kovalev, a pro-Putin poet, has urged the Kremlin to posthumously grant Lt Col Mezhuev the nation’s highest honor. ‘For his deed, he is deserving of the title of Hero of Russia,’ he stated.
According to Ukraine, Russia has now lost seven generals and 33 colonels.
The total number of Russian casualties since the war began on February 24 is estimated to be in the 20,000 range, but Moscow has refused to provide reliable data.
Lt Gen Yakov Rezantsev, commander of Russia’s 49th combined army, was killed in a strike near the southern city of Kherson on March 25, among other high-ranking soldiers murdered recently.
Ukrainian marines from the 36th brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces collaborated in an operation ‘to extract the body of our high-ranking commander from the Illich plant in Mariupol,’ according to the pro-Kremlin Wargonzo Telegram channel, which did not name the general but did give his rank.
‘After yesterday’s operation to clear a neo-Nazi breakaway from the Illich factory, the surrendered Ukrainian marines not only gave information about the general’s whereabouts, but also volunteered to help the DNR People’s Militia evacuate it,’ they wrote.
‘Specifically, they acted as guides and demonstrated a safe way,’ according to the outlet.
‘The neo-Nazis refused to hand over his body or divulge his location for a long period. Instead, Azov troops mocked the corpse in a video.’