A top Russian general has been killed following a missile strike in Ukraine.
The 35th Combined Arms Army’s chief of staff, Sergei Goryachev, 52, was reportedly killed on Monday night in the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia region by a Ukrainian rocket barrage.
The highest-ranking Russian soldier to die on the battlefield this year is reportedly Goryachev.
There was no immediate confirmation from Russia’s defence ministry but Kremlin-aligned media also reported the death of General Goryachev, who commanded troops in Transnistria and Tajikistan as he rose through the ranks.
A Russian officer stationed in a portion of southern Zaporizhzhia area, Vladimir Rogov, declared: “The army has lost one of its brightest and most capable military commanders.”
He “was eliminated as a result of the successful actions of the Ukrainian Army,” according to the military of Ukraine, which claimed credit.
According to Russian military bloggers, General Goryachev was stationed in a frontline location in Zaporizhzhia that had come under heavy fire during the counteroffensive in Ukraine.
Despite losing a number of Western armored vehicles, Ukraine claims to have taken control of numerous communities in the area.
