List of Russian generals killed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
A number of Russian general officers[a] have been killed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As of 17 December 2024, Ukrainian sources claimed that 18 Russian generals and one admiral had been killed during the invasion, while Russian sources have confirmed nine deaths. Although seven of the Ukrainian claims were rebutted, the loss of even two general officers is rare. The scale of these losses is unprecedented since the Second Chechen War, in which Russia lost ten generals.[1][2][3] This has been attributed to Russian senior commanders going to the field to address "difficulties in command and control" and "faltering Russian performance on the front line",[4]insecure communication by Russian forces,[5] and United States military intelligence that allowed the Ukrainians to target Russian officers.[6]
List
Russia has confirmed the death of nine generals. Ukraine has claimed the deaths of four additional generals, two of whom have not been named, which Russia has neither confirmed nor denied.
Reported by Russian state television reporter Alexander Sladkov on the Telegram messaging app.[25] Kutuzov was reportedly killed near the village of Mykolaivka, Popasna Raion, Luhansk Oblast.[26][25] Kutuzov's promotion from major general was announced posthumously.[27][28]
Killed during a SCALP/Storm Shadow strike on Belbek air base in Crimea, in the context of a larger Ukrainian missile and drone attack on 30–31 January that killed another ten servicemen. The Kyiv Post cites reports in Russian media for the claim.[36]
^General officer or flag officer refers to a military officer above the rank of colonel. Flag officers include generals, brigadiers, marshals, commodores, and admirals.
On 23 April 2022, Ukraine's Ministry of Defence claimed a strike on a Russian 49th Combined Arms Army command post in Russian-controlled Kherson Oblast killed two generals and critically injured one. The names of the two generals were not released at the time of the report.[41][42]
Rebutted reports
The reported deaths of four Russian generals and one admiral have been rebutted, and two more retracted.
Death disputed by the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who posted a video said to show Tushayev alive,[45][46] and a Chechen-based media outlet that posted a video of Tushayev denying his death on 16 March 2022.[47]BBC News Russian later reported he was still alive.[48]
Claimed killed outside Kharkiv. Had previously been involved in the Second Chechen War, Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war, and 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea.[13]CNN said it had not independently verified his death and US officials had not confirmed it.[50]
On 23 May 2022, Russian media reported that Gerasimov was awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky, while dismissing claims of his death.[51][52] BBC News Russian later reported he was still alive.[48]
Claimed killed somewhere near Mariupol.[53] However, the Ukrainian claim was not verified by Western media and Russian sources did not confirm his death.[54][failed verification]
On 14 March 2023, Kolesnikov appeared in an interview with Vladimir Solovyov on Russian TV, reportedly during the latter's trip to Syria.[55]
On 28 March 2022, footage appeared reportedly showing Kadyrov meeting with Mordvichev and other commanders in Mariupol.[60][61] BBC News Russian later reported he was still alive.[48]
Ukrainian officials claimed he was killed as a result of a Ukrainian strike on the command post of the 49th Combined Arms Army at Chornobaivka airfield in Kherson Raion.[63][64]
Listed by Ukrainian government war criminals database as alive in February 2023, having been transferred to another position.[65]
Shown on 26 September 2023 attending a video conference with the Russian military leadership, reportedly the same day.[67] Subsequently, Ukraine said it was "clarifying" the reports of his death[68] and later that they had not confirmed it.[69] The next day, Sokolov appeared in an interview with Zvezda, reportedly commenting on the strike. Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported that he led an award ceremony that morning.[70]
General-Major Artem Nasbulin, listed as Commander, 22nd Army Corps, was reported by Odesa Oblast representative Serhiy Bratchuk as killed, along with 3 officers and over 140 others, following a Ukrainian strike on a Russian command post in Tavriisk, Kherson Oblast, on 12 July 2022.[71] However, The Moscow Times could not find any evidence supporting Nasbulin even existed.[72]
Analysis
Russian state television reporter Alexander Sladkov reported on the death of General Kutuzov (pictured).
Analysts at the Jerusalem Institute for Security and Strategy and the French Institute of International Relations found that the number of Russian generals killed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine suggests that poor morale among Russian forces and a slow advance into Ukraine forced high-ranking officers to put themselves at risk in an effort to achieve military objectives.[73][74] UK intelligence attributed the deaths of senior commanders to their going to the field to personally lead operations to address "difficulties in command and control" and "faltering Russian performance on the front line."[4]Western governments say at least ten Russian generals have been killed, which they attribute to major strategic errors.[75] The Japanese government estimates that 20 Russian generals have been killed in the war, based on intelligence gathered by Japan in cooperation with the United States and Europe; retired general Kiyofumi Iwata [jp], former chief of staff of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, described the tally as "unbelievably high".[76]
In addition to these flag officers, many other senior officers have been killed by Ukrainian forces; on 23 March, Ukrainian official Mykhailo Podoliak stated that their forces had killed "dozens of colonels and other officers".[77][78] That day, The Times counted five Russian colonels killed in Ukraine so far.[79] On 11 May, The Independent reported a total of 42 colonels allegedly killed.[80] By the end of April, at least 317 Russian officers had been killed, a third of them majors, lieutenant colonels, and colonels.[81] A Ukrainian official told TheWall Street Journal that a unit of Ukrainian military intelligence was collecting information on the positions of Russian officers, including generals, artillery commanders, and pilots.[13][7] High-ranking casualties in the Russian Navy include Captain 1st RankAndrei Paliy, deputy commander of the Black Sea Fleet.[82][83] Anton Kurpin, the commander of the Russian cruiser Moskva, has also been reported as killed, although Russia has not confirmed this.[84]
The Russian military is top-heavy, with generals playing a larger role in day-to-day operations than in other militaries.[7][85] Russian battalion commanders were given more authority only three years before the invasion.[13] According to analysts and Western officials, Russia had deployed approximately 20 general officers to Ukraine.[13][86]Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia, described the number of Russian generals killed as "a shocking number",[86] while General David Petraeus, the former director of the CIA and commander of Coalition troops in Iraq, remarked that it is "very uncommon" for so many generals to be killed and that the Ukrainian military was "picking them off left and right".[87]The Washington Post stated that generals were "killed at a rate not seen since World War II".[3]
The deaths of Russian officers on the front line have been attributed to a number of Russian vulnerabilities in Ukraine, including the use of unsecured communications and the movement of officers to the front line to boost flagging morale and address discipline issues, such as looting.[13][86][85][3] The use of unsecured phones has been attributed to the failure of Russia's secure telephone technology system, Era.[5] In March 2022, two American military officials told TheNew York Times that Russian generals in Ukraine frequently had conversations on unsecured phones and radios, and that in at least one instance, a general and his staff were killed after the Ukrainians intercepted a call, geolocated it, and attacked the location.[86]The New York Times also reported that U.S. intelligence has provided real-time intelligence to help the Ukrainian military target Russian generals.[88]
^ abAnna Mukhina; Mark Krutov (3 March 2022). ""Звоните в ФСБ". В Россию пошли первые "похоронки"" ["Call the FSB." The first "funerals" went to Russia]. Радио Свобода (in Russian). Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
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