Another Russian Commander Dies In Ukraine War, Bringing Total To 23

Another Russian commander has died in the invasion of Ukraine as the death toll among Russia’s troops continues to mount.

Colonel Ivan Grishin, commander of the 49th anti-aircraft missile brigade, died after sustaining abdominal wounds caused by shrapnel. The commander was killed near the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, but it is unclear when he died.

“Sleep well, dear friend, your death will not be in vain,” the Daily Mail quoted Russian MP Artem Malashchenkov saying, referring to Grishin’s death. “The men will continue your work and fulfill all the tasks of the special military operation.”

Grishin is the 23rd Russian commander to have been killed in the war in Ukraine. He follows General Vladimir Petrovich Frolov, the deputy commander of the 8th Army, according to Russian news outlet Fontaka, citing St. Petersburg’s administration’s press services.

The governor of St. Petersburg, Alexander Beglov, on April 16 attended Frolov’s funeral where he was given military honors. It is unclear when Frolov was killed.

“Today we say goodbye to a real hero. Vladimir Petrovich Frolov died a heroic death in battle with Ukrainian nationalists,” Gov. Beglov said. “He sacrificed his life so that children, women and the elderly in the Donbas would no longer hear bomb explosions. To stop waiting for death and leaving home, to say goodbye as if it were the last time.”

Other Russian generals killed in the war included Oleg Mityaev, Miras Bashakov, Magomed Tushaev, Andrey Sukhovetsky, Vitaly Gerasimov, Andrey Kolesnikov, Andrei Mordvichev, Yakov Rezantsev, Dmitry Safronov, Denis Glebov, Konstantin Zizevsky, Yuri Agarkov, Andrei Zakharov, Sergei Porokhnya, Sergei Sukharev, Alexei Sharov, Dmitry Dormidontov, Igor Zharov, Denis Kurilo, Anton Kuprin and Denis Muzhuev.

On top of the casualties amongst Russian generals, the Ukrainian forces have also killed roughly 20,100 Russian troops since the invasion began on Feb, 24, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Saturday.

An estimate released by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) earlier said Russia had lost roughly 7,000 to 15,000 soldiers in the first month of the invasion. Overall, approximately 40,000 Russian soldiers had been captured, killed, missing or wounded in the same period.