In the midst of fierce battle in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has lost yet another senior military official as his forces endure a string of humiliating defeats.
In his hometown in the Moscow area, Lieutenant Colonel Pavel Kislyakov, 40, was buried today with full military honors.
Since Putin sent his soldiers across the border on February 24, 57 colonels have been slain, including Kislyakov, the head of a prominent regiment of Russian paratroopers.
No information has been provided on the location of his death in Ukraine, but it is clear from his passing that Russia has lost a shocking number of senior commanders.
At least 11 Russian generals have also been killed in the conflict, which has already lasted for more than four months; however, the actual death toll may be greater given the propensity of Russian officials to hide their death counts.
It comes after recent military film from Ukraine showed how its forces used a long-range M777 howitzer to destroy a Russian installation.
According to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, since the invasion started, Russia has lost roughly 35,600 people, 1,573 tanks, 3,726 armored combat vehicles, 790 artillery pieces, 246 multiple launch rocket systems, 104 air defense systems, 217 warplanes, 185 helicopters, 641 drones, 143 cruise missiles, 14 warships, 2,602 motor vehicles, and fuel tankers.
Stunning video captured the moment a barrage of shells fired by howitzers owned by the Ukrainian army smashed into a Russian camp that apparently held multiple military vehicles.
The Ukrainian military claimed to have destroyed the Russian base with British-made M777 howitzers, although this information could not be independently corroborated.
Three howitzers (M777) on the occupying forces’ armored vehicles, headquarters, and storage, according to a statement from the Ukrainian Centre for Strategic Communications (StratCom) yesterday.
The M777 is a very efficient lightweight artillery cannon produced by BAE Systems’ Global Combat Systems business. It can fire shells at an effective range of up to 25 miles and might be crucial to Ukraine’s attempts to hit Russian objectives at a distance.
In Buryatia, Kislyakov oversaw the operational division of the 11th separate airborne assault brigade’s headquarters until he was killed in a different raid.
At the burial, district administrator Denis Semenov declared: “He passed away while doing his military duties during the special operation in Ukraine.”
A “genuine hero and protector of the Motherland,” the father of two was called.
Only three days had passed since Col. Andrey Vasilyev, another paratrooper leader, was reported dead, bringing the total of senior Russian military officers killed in battle to over 60.
One of the first HIMARS missiles fired by Ukraine, with a range of 43 miles, was used to strike Vasilyev.
The colonel, who oversaw the 137th Guards Airborne Regiment of the 106th Guards Airborne Division, had already received the Russian Order of Courage.
Vasilyev’s passing took place on the same night when HIMARS-captured video of Ukrainian soldiers opening fire initially became public.
It is not clear whether the strike captured on film and the strike that killed Vasilyev were one and the same, but the timing of his death means he is almost certainly one of the first Russian officers to be killed by the weapon.
Russia’s defence ministry announced this morning that its forces had withdrawn from Snake Island, a key strategic outpost 80 miles off Ukraine’s southern coast, in a move which British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said shows the futility of the Russian leader’s ambitions in Ukraine.
Putin’s remaining troops on the island fled in the middle of the night in two speedboats with the rocky outcrop left ‘covered in fire’ following a fresh volley of rocket attacks on remaining Russian positions, Ukraine’s military said as Kyiv celebrated the retreat.
The head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, Andriy Yermak, published a jubilant message upon learning the news this morning.
‘KABOOM! No Russian troops on the Snake Island anymore. Our Armed Forces did a great job,’ Yermak wrote on Twitter, sharing a photo of smoke rising from the island following last night’s attacks.
The 100-acre parcel of land 80 miles off Ukraine’s southern coast was seized by Kremlin forces in the early days of the war but has been pounded by Ukrainian forces in recent weeks in a major offensive involving long-range weapons.
As soon as the Russian defense ministry announced the troop departure, it attempted to portray it as a “goodwill gesture” meant to facilitate grain shipments.
However, the retreat deals Putin an embarrassing strategic setback in a conflict where he has already lost tens of thousands of soldiers and a significant quantity of military hardware.
After the NATO meeting in Madrid, Boris Johnson said at a press conference that it would ultimately be difficult for Putin to maintain control over a nation that would not submit to his leadership.
“We’ve seen what Ukraine can do to push the Russians back,” someone said. On Snake Island, we can observe what they accomplished in the area around Kyiv and Kharkiv.
‘I think the right thing for us is to keep going on the course that NATO has set out, no matter how difficult.’
It comes as NATO leaders continue to hold talks in Madrid where Joe Biden yesterday announced that America will deploy thousands more troops to Europe along with fighters, air defences and ships in a major reinforcement of the alliance’s eastern flank in a new Iron Curtain to protect the continent from Russia.