BBC reports that a top-Russian general has been killed by Ukrainian forces. 

The Russian general has been identified as Lt. Gen. Yakov Rezantsev. He was the commander of Russia’s 49th combined army.

Rezantsev had just been promoted to the rank of lieutenant general in 2021. His military background includes participation in Russia’s military operation in Syria.

How he died:

The information about Rezantsev’s death comes from Ukraine’s defense ministry. It announced Rezantsev’s death on Friday.

The Ukrainian defense ministry reported that Rezantsev’s death occurred at the Chornobaivka airbase near Kherson, Ukraine.

Kherson is the first Ukrainian city that Russian troops managed to occupy during their invasion of Ukraine. Since then, Russia has been using Kherson, specifically the Chornobaivka airbase, as a command post.

Ukraine has launched several attacks on the Russian outpost. It is being reported that Rezantsev was killed as the result of a strike carried out on the Russian command post by Ukrainian forces.

Adding to the tally

Western officials believe that Rezantsev is now the second lieutenant general to be killed during the Russia-Ukraine war. They also believe that, overall, seven Russian generals have been killed.

Western officials also believe that the reason that Russian generals are dying is that they are located closer to the battlefield than one might normally expect them to be, and that the reason that they are closer to the battlefield is that morale among Russian troops is low.

Previously, the Ukrainian military posted an intercepted conversation that took place between a Russian soldier and Rezantsev. The soldier complained to Rezantsev about the fact that the war was not over even though Rezantsev said that it would be over within hours of its commencement.

Russia has not confirmed Rezantsev’s death. Russia, in fact, has only confirmed the death of one general, likely Maj. Gen. Andrey Sukhovestsky, and has protested some of the other claims made by Ukraine. The truth probably will not be known until after the war is over.

The one thing that we do know for sure is that Russia was not expecting this level of resistance from Ukraine. The invasion has been going on for five weeks now, and Russia still hasn’t managed to succeed in its mission.