Again, Russian General Dies In Ukraine, This Time Veteran Of The Chechen And Syrian Wars Major General Vitaly Gerasimov

Illustration of a convoy of Russian military vehicles. (Source: Russian Ministry of Defense/Dmitry Shutov)

JAKARTA - Ukrainian military intelligence said on Tuesday Ukrainian troops had killed a Russian general near the besieged city of Kharkiv, the second senior Russian commander to die in the invasion.

Major General Vitaly Gerasimov, the first deputy commander of Russia's 41st army, was killed on Monday, the head of the Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The Russian Defense Ministry could not immediately be reached for comment. Reuters was unable to verify the report.

Prior to Gerasimov's death, another Russian general, Andrei Sukhovetsky, also a deputy commander of the 41st army, was reportedly killed in late February.

Major General Vitaly Gerasimov (Wikimedia Commons/gur.gov.ua/Головне авління озвідки ерства оборони аїни)

While citing The Guardian, Major General Vitaly Gerasimov was killed along with other senior officers. The ministry also broadcast what it claimed was a conversation between two Russian FSB officers discussing the deaths, complaining that their secure communications were no longer functioning inside Ukraine.

Investigative journalism agency Bellingcat said it had confirmed Gerasimov's death with Russian sources. Its executive director, Christo Grozev, said they had also identified a senior FSB official in the tapped conversation.

General Gerasimov took part in the second Chechen war, Russia's military operations in Syria, and the annexation of Crimea, winning medals from the campaign.

The disappearance of high-ranking officers comes at a time when much of Putin's invasion force is hampered by logistical problems, poor morale and Ukrainian resistance. The failure of its encrypted communications system could be another heavy blow.

"In the call, you hear an FSB officer based in Ukraine asking his boss if he can talk through the secure Era system. Boss says Era is not working," Grozev wrote on Twitter.

"Era is a super-expensive cryptophone system that (Russian Defense Ministry) introduced in 2021 with great fanfare. It is guaranteed (to) work in all conditions."

For information, Ukraine says its troops have killed more than 11.000 Russian soldiers. Russia has confirmed about 500 losses. Meanwhile, neither side has disclosed the Ukrainian victims.