Photo Illustration by Erin O’Flynn/The Daily Beast/Getty and Mil.ru./Wikimedia Commons
Russia has now lost at least 100 senior officers since it invaded Ukraine earlier this year, according to some tallies. It’s a devastating milestone for Moscow—and just the latest indication that Vladimir Putin’s war effort in Ukraine is wavering.
In the past two days alone, three senior Russian officers were reported dead: Lt. Colonel Nikolay Gorban, a commander from the Foreign Security Service (FSB) special forces; army aviation commander Colonel Vasily Kleshchenko; and Colonel Vitaly Tsikul of Russia’s 90th Tank Division—reportedly the 100th Russian senior officer to die in the war.
While exact tallies of Russian casualties can be difficult to pin down, a British intelligence analysis released this week found that at least 10 Russian generals have died on the battlefield since February.