The war in Ukraine is producing deadly results for the Russians. As of March 28, seven Russian generals were reportedly killed in action via bombs, sniper attacks, and close combat.
If true, the number of generals killed in just over a month exceeds the total number of Russian generals who died in the worst months of a nine-year war fought by Russia in Chechnya, as well as Russian and Soviet-era campaigns in Afghanistan, Georgia, and Syria.
According to the global magazine Foreign Policy, the number of Russian generals killed in the approximately month-long conflict is likely the highest death rate among general officers in the Russian military since World War II.
“It is highly unusual,” a senior Western official told reporters as he confirmed the names, ranks, and “killed in action” status of the seven.
The seven Russian generals reportedly killed in action are Magomed Tushayev, Andrei Sukhovetsky, Vitaly Gerasimov, Andrey Kolesnikov, Oleg Mityaev, Yakov Rezanstev, and Andrei Mordvichev.
Lieutenant General Rezantsev was killed on March 26, according to Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense, making him the highest-ranking officer to be killed in the war.
However, Russian officials and Russian media have only confirmed the death of one general: Sukhovetsky, a deputy commander of Russia’s 41st army, who Ukrainian officials said was killed by a sniper at the beginning of the war.
Part of the reason for the high death rate of Russian generals reportedly stems from the way Russia’s military is designed.
The Russian army is top-heavy, with numerous senior officers. Though they are not expendable, Russian generals serve closer to the front lines than their NATO counterparts because communication breakdowns make it difficult for them to lead from the back.
Further forcing Russian generals into dangerous situations is that the country’s military rules do not permit junior ranking military officials, including sergeants and corporals, to order war maneuvers. Instead, they must wait for orders from higher-ranking officials.
The nearly 200,000 Russian troops, most of them young conscripts, have also reportedly been poorly trained and thus struggle on their own without the guidance of generals.
Russian officials additionally dispute the total number of troops that have died.
NATO officials recently reported that approximately 15,000 Russian troops had died since February 24. However, Russia says that just 1,351 military troops have been killed.
Further, the morale of Russian troops is also reportedly very low.
Russian soldiers allegedly went so far as to injure their own commanding officer after their unit suffered heavy losses in a battle outside of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
Per The Washington Post, a Facebook post by Ukrainian journalist Roman Tsymbaliuk states that Russian troops with the 37th Motor Rifle Brigade reportedly ran a tank into Colonel Yuri Medvedev after their brigade lost almost half its men. Leg injuries from the encounter left the colonel hospitalized.
Markiyan Lubkivsky, a spokesperson for the Ukraine Ministry of Defense, said that at least fifteen senior Russian commanders had been killed in the field in all.
Ruth Deyermond, an expert in post-Soviet security in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, told the Washington Post that it was unknown how the loss of several senior officers might reshape Russia’s strategy.
“You don’t even know what Putin is being told (by his military) about the losses,” she added.
The extraordinary rate of Russian generals succumbing to the war highlights one of the obstacles Russia has faced during the invasion. The country reportedly expected to swiftly topple Ukraine’s government and install a regime favorable to Moscow in just a few days. However, the conflict has now entered its second month.