Russian commanders die as army falters during invasion of Ukraine

Three Russian army commanders – one a Major General – are believed to have been have killed after moving ­towards the Ukraine frontline.

Andrei Sukhovetsky was appointed by Vladimir Putin as commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army of the Central Military District last year. Picture: TASS

Three Russian army commanders have been killed after moving ­towards the frontline in an apparent attempt to restore momentum among junior ranks, Western officials believe.

The death of Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky, a Spetsnaz or special forces commander and deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army, was disclosed on Thursday.

He is thought to be the highest-ranking member of the force to be killed.

Western officials believe that a divisional commander and a regimental commander have also been killed.

An official said: “My assessment would be that those commanders have been killed because they’ve had to go further and closer to the front, rather than them being in the rear of operations.”

The official said he believed commanders felt they had to move further forward to “get greater … control over operations”.

“That’s an indication perhaps that they have some degree of frustration, some degree of lack of progress, and they are trying to ­impose their sort of personality on to the battlefield and then putting themselves at personal risk.”

The official said it was not surprising they felt they had to go further forward to “bring some order and intervene in the Russian ­attack because it has stalled in some areas so badly”.

He said he believed the ­“ferocity of the fight” was having a “psychological impact on the Russian troops”.

British and American generals have been perplexed by Russia’s strategy and its repeated failures on the battlefield against a much smaller Ukrainian force. Russian troops are believed to be suffering from low morale as a result of hunger, lack of direction and confusion about their mission.

Some of the soldiers were thought to have been told to ­expect Ukrainians to welcome them with open arms but instead they have come up against fierce resistance.

One young Russian prisoner of war was captured on camera crying to his mother after being given tea and bread by Ukrainians.

Russia has admitted 498 of its soldiers have been killed and 1597 wounded in the fighting. Western officials say they believe this is a significant underestimation of the casualties. Ukraine claims the death toll for the Russians is as high as 9000.

In response to mass protests against the war, it has been reported that President Vladimir Putin has announced families of soldiers killed will receive payments of 12 million roubles ($142,000) and 2.8 million roubles plus monthly welfare if they are disabled.

The Western official said the 65km convoy that had barely moved in three days north of Kyiv, the capital city, was an example of Russia’s “poor planning and poor execution”.

He said the convoy had been attacked several times by Ukraine forces, which had had an impact. The military procession also faced “enormous” logistic challenges.

Bridges have been destroyed by soldiers and civilians, leaving the vehicles struggling to move. The Russians did not appear to have the engineering capabilities to overcome the problems.

The official said it had become “in effect an enormously large ­traffic jam”, with some vehicles damaged or destroyed.

THE TIMES