Many top Russian military personnel have perished since the invasion of Ukraine, some under mysterious circumstances. This is known about the commanders.
Not only has Russia lost tens of thousands of ordinary soldiers in the war against Ukraine, the leadership ranks of Putin’s armed forces have also thinned significantly since February 2022. At least ten Russian generals have been killed or died under mysterious circumstances since the raid. This is in addition to almost 800 lower-ranking officers killed. With Colonel General Gennady Schidko apparently the next top military man has now died.
The 58-year-old succumbed to a long illness in Moscow, as the governor of the Russian region of Khabarovsk, Mikhail Degtyarev, reports on Telegram. Degtyarev did not provide any further information on the circumstances of Shidko’s death. In May 2022, Schidko assumed command of the Russian forces in Ukraine. In October Schidko was deposed again and replaced by General Sergei Surovikin replaced. This is said to have been arrested after the rebellion of the Wagner mercenary group at the end of June and is now under house arrest.
Failed in Ukraine
Exactly why Schidko was removed as commander is unclear. Under his leadership, however, Russia had to accept a serious defeat: In September 2022, the Ukrainian army surprisingly managed to liberate the Kharkiv region in the north-east of the country within a few days. Before the Ukraine war, Shidko had served as chief of staff for the Russian forces in Syria and was appointed commander of the Eastern Military District troops in 2018. In 2021, Schidko took over the post of deputy defense minister. The Kremlin has not yet confirmed Shidko’s death.
Stolen from the wrong person?
Regardless of what is happening in Ukraine Gennadi Lopirew to have died. The 69-year-old was lieutenant general of the Russian secret service FSO, which is responsible for the personal protection of the president. Lopirev has been serving a 10-year prison sentence in a penal colony since 2017 for corruption. Lopirev is said to have overseen the construction of a residence by Kremlin chief Putin near the Black Sea resort of Sochi and enriched himself in the process.
As the propaganda agency Tass reports, Lopirev died on Wednesday of an unspecified illness. Two days before his death, Lopirev is said to have reported to the infirmary of the penal camp with breathing difficulties and a hoarse voice, according to the Russian Telegram channel “Cheka-OGPU”, which is allegedly operated by members of the Wagner mercenary troupe. These symptoms would indicate poisoning of Lopirews, who had previously been perfectly healthy. The report cannot be independently confirmed.
The death of Generalleutnant is confirmed Oleg Zokow, who commanded the 144th Motorized Rifle Division in Ukraine. According to Duma deputy Andrei Gurulev, on July 11, Zokov was killed in a Ukrainian attack on a hotel in the occupied city of Berdyansk on the Black Sea coast.
Victims of British cruise missiles
Zokow had been fighting in Ukraine since February 2022 and is said to have been seriously injured in September. Previously, Zokov had been deputy commander of Russia’s southern military district. The 51-year-old had already fought in Syria and Chechnya and was on several Western sanctions lists.
According to the British Ministry of Defense also became a major general Sergey Goryatschev Victim of a Ukrainian long-distance strike. The chief of staff of the 35th Army was killed in a cruise missile attack on a Russian command post in southern Ukraine on June 12. The 35th Army is also said to have been involved in the Russian atrocities in the Kiev suburb of Bucha early in the war. The unit is said to have been largely destroyed in the battle for the city of Izyum.
