Ukraine intelligence and Western officials have been detailing the death of Russian generals and other leading officers since the invasion, some of which have later been confirmed by Russia.
The list of reported high-profile Russian casualties include two generals in the space of a few days.
Below is a list of top Russian commanders who are said to have died during the fighting in Ukraine. Newsweek has not been able to independently verify the claims.
Major General Vitaly Gerasimov, First Deputy Commander Of The 41st Army
On Monday, Ukraine’s defense intelligence agency SAID that its military forces had killed Russian Army Major General Vitaly Gerasimov, along with a number of other senior officers.
Gerasimov was a decorated military veteran who had taken part in the second Chechen war, Russia’s military operation in Syria, and the 2014 annexation of Crimea.
Ukraine claimed that Gerasimov and the other officers were killed during fighting near Kharkiv.
If confirmed, Gerasimov would be the second Russian general from the 41st Army to die within a week amid the ongoing conflict.
Andrei Sukhovetsky, Deputy Commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army
Russian media and President Vladimir Putin confirmed that General Andrei Sukhovetsky, deputy commander of the 41st Combined, was killed by a sniper during a special operation in Ukraine.
Sukhovetsky, who was also the head of the 7th Airborne Division, was said to have been killed alongside an unnamed divisional commander and a regimental commander.
Sukhovetsky’s comrade-in-arms Sergey Chipilev confirmed his death in a post on social media.
“With great pain, we learned the tragic news of the death of our friend, Major General Andrey Sukhovetsky, on the territory of Ukraine during the special operation. We express our deepest condolences to his family,” Chipilev wrote, via pravda.ru.
Putin also acknowledged the general’s death during a publicly broadcast speech on March 2 while updating the Russian people on the progress of the Ukraine conflict.
Lieutenant Colonel Dmitry Safronov, Commander of the 61st Separate Marine Brigade
In a statement on Monday, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense said that Lieutenant Colonel Dmitry Safronov had been killed while the city of Chuhuiv was being “liberated” from Russian forces.
The agency said the leading officer was killed as Russian forces “suffered heavy losses in personnel and equipment” during the fighting.
Lieutenant Colonel Denis Glebov, Deputy Commander of the 11th Separate Airborne Assault Brigade
In the same statement, Ukraine said Lieutenant Colonel Denis Glebov was also killed in the fighting.
The Russian news agency TASS reported Glebov was killed while taking part in a special operation in Donbas, and was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage.
A memorial service was held for the paratrooper on March 6 in the Russian city of Ryazan
Guards Colonel Konstantin Zizevsky
The death of the commander of the 247th Guards Air Assault Regiment during a military operation to “protect the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics” in Eastern Ukraine was confirmed in an Instagram post by Mikhail Minenkov, the mayor of the Russian city of Nevinnomyssk.
“The news of Konstantin’s death is a terrible blow! It hurts even to think that he is no more,” Minenkov wrote.
The mayor added that a funeral for Zizevsky took place on March 6 in the city of Pskov.
The Russian defense ministry has been contacted for comment.