A top commander in the Russian army has been killed during fighting near Kharkiv, according to Ukraine’s ministry of defence intelligence service.
The BBC cannot independently verify the claim; Russian officials have not commented.
According to a statement from Ukraine’s defence ministry, Vitaly Gerasimov was a major general, chief of staff and first deputy commander of the 41st Army of the Central Military District of Russia.
A number of senior Russian army officers were also killed and wounded, it says.
Ukrainian intelligence says Gerasimov took part in the second Chechen war and the Russian military operation in Syria. He received a medal “for the return of Crimea”.
Ukrainian officials tweeted out a photo of someone they said was Gerasimov, with the word “Liquidated” in red letters across the bottom.
BBC diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams shares this thought on reports of Gerasimov’s death.
Source: BBC
