In the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula, the funeral of the deputy commander of the Black Sea Fleet was held today in the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula. He is, according to Ukraine, the latest victim in a series of casualties among high-ranking Russian military officers since the start of the offensive launched by Moscow on 24 February.
Mikhail Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, on Sunday named six Russian generals who he said were killed in Ukraine along with dozens of colonels and other officers.
Russia's defence ministry has not confirmed these casualties. It is also noteworthy that it has not revised the casualty figure since March 2, a week after the war began, when it announced that 498 Russian soldiers had been killed. Ukraine puts this figure at 15,600.
Reuters stresses that it cannot cross-check Ukraine's claims, but has confirmed some of these casualties from Russian sources.
Russian authorities in the port of Novorossiysk confirmed the death, on 28 February, of Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky via an online statement. It said that he had served in Syria, the North Caucasus and Abkhazia.
Today hundreds of people gathered in Sevastopol, Crimea, to attend the funeral with military honours of Andrei Paly, deputy commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
Conrad Muzyka, director of the Poland-based consulting firm Rochan, said Ukrainian claims about the losses of high-ranking Russian officers are plausible, but they are difficult to verify and the actual number is probably lower.
"Even if we are talking about two generals, it is a big issue," he stressed, adding "We are not only talking about generals, we are also talking about colonels who are also high up in the military hierarchy."
According to him, such casualties suggest that Russia did not have sufficient understanding of Ukrainian artillery positions and that Ukraine managed to locate the positions of senior Russian officers, possibly through their mobile phone snapshots.
"Many colonels, few corporals"
A top foreign diplomat in Moscow told Reuters, "In my personal view, what is important is the reported numerous casualties of colonels and their superiors. They are the backbone of the Russian army. It is not only the generals."
According to him, the Russian army does not have non-commissioned officers with authority, as is the case in Western countries. "There are too many colonels, but too few corporals. Therefore, what happens is that issues that require immediate decisions, which in the West can be resolved by lower ranking officers, are moved up the chain of command for decision making," he explained.
The diplomat said the chain of command structure attracted senior officers to the front line to solve problems and revitalize the campaign, leaving them vulnerable to attack.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused the deaths of thousands of people and the displacement of some 10 million, and has raised fears of a generalized conflict between Russia and the United States.
Russia argues that the "special military operation" it launched was necessary because the US was exploiting Ukraine to threaten it and Moscow was obliged to respond to the "genocide" of the Russian-speaking population in Ukraine. Kiev has rejected Moscow's claims.
Source: protothema.gr
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