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Russian Generals Killed in Ukraine — Confirmed, Suspected, and Rejected

In the first days after February 24, 2022 everything was messy. And that included information about Russian soldiers killed in action. The KIU project was started in mid-April, and by that time plenty of claims, counter-claims, and misinformation had already been spread. It was difficult to quickly sift through all the information, so all the claims were considered true, unless some proof of the opposite was supplied. One of the most difficult to untangle areas in this regard was the claims of lost generals.

On April 17, 2022 with the second iteration of the KIU infographic, 2 Lieutenant Generals and 6 Major Generals were included in the list. Over time counterclaims would emerge about some of the generals, and it was decided that we would introduce color codes in order to distinguish between confirmed, claimed by Ukraine, and disputed by Russia claims of losses of generals. However, we now consider this to not be ideal and we will make corresponding changes to the list, removing the unconfirmed losses. For context, we will provide information on what is known and what is suspected.

One of the most authoritative sources on the subject of Russian casualties is the collaboration project between Mediazona and BBC Russia. While their list isn’t fully publicly available, they share the names of the high ranking officers they considered confirmed losses. In the case of the Russian generals, these are four Major Generals (zero Lieutenant Generals):

  • Major General Botashev Kanamat (Боташев Канамат)
  • Major General Kutuzov Roman (Кутузов Роман)
  • Major General Sukhovetsky Andrey (Суховецкий Андрей)
  • Major General Frolov Vladimir (Фролов Владимир)
These generals have been acknowledged losses by the Russian side, and therefore we also consider them undisputed.

The full BBC/Mediazona list includes 15,136 names of killed Russian soldiers as of February 24, 2023. Another list that compiles names of killed Russian soldiers, Горюшко, has 15,249 names as of February 24, 2023. These figures are undoubtedly very low, which shows the limitations of casualty confirmations by name.

On June 6, 2022 the BBC reported the death of Major General Roman Kutuzov, and cited Ukrainian claims of 12 killed Russian generals. Additionally, Western intelligence officials were cited as saying “at least seven senior commanders have been killed.” In the article, the following names of generals were specified:

  • Major General Kutuzov Roman (Кутузов Роман)
  • Lieutenant General Rezantsev Yakov (Резанцев Яков)
  • Major General Mityaev Oleg (Митяев Олег)
  • Major General Kolesnikov Andrey (Колесников Андрей)
  • Major General Suhovetskiy Sergey (Суховецкий Сергей)

On February 9, 2023 the English-language edition of the Japanese newspaper Nikkei reported that Japanese intelligence estimates the total number of killed Russian generals to be “at more than 20, based on intelligence gathered in cooperation with the U.S. and Europe.” No names were specified in the article. However, the claim is substantially higher than previous claims and comes from a reputable enough source to merit further consideration.

With the help of some of our followers who are keep observers of the top command of the Russian army, we explore the Russian generals that may have been killed during some of the Ukrainian strikes since February 24, 2022.

Suspected (14)
Rejected (6)


Confirmed (4)

These are the losses that will be included in the updated version of the KIU list. They are confirmed by Russian sources.

Боташев Канамат Хусеевич
Botashev Kanamat Khuseevich

Major General (Retired) Botashev is considered a confirmed kill. This was reported widely in Russian media. The date of death was given as May 22, 2022.

Sources:
stav.kp.ru





Кутузов Роман Владимирович
Kutuzov Roman Vladimirovich

Major General Kutuzov is considered a confirmed kill. His loss was first announced on June 5, 2022. The date of death was given as June 5, 2022.

Sources:
t.me/Sladkov_plus
zebra-tv.ru



Суховецкий Андрей Александрович
Sukhovetsky Andrey Aleksandrovich

Major General Sukhovetsky is considered a confirmed kill. His loss was announced by Russian authorities. The date of death was given as February 28, 2022.

Sources:
admnvrsk.ru
tsargrad.tv
ru.krymr.com



Фролов Владимир Петрович
Frolov Vladimir Petrovich

Major General Frolov is considered a confirmed kill. His funeral took place on April 16, and it was widely reported in Russian media.

Sources:
regnum.ru
tsargrad.tv




Suspected (14)

These are losses that we have different levels of suspicion about. They are presented in alphabetical order, not in order of likelihood to be true.

Авдеев Алексей Вячеславович
Avdeev Alexey Vyacheslovich

Major General Avdeev is determined to be the former CO of the 3rd MRD. It has been reported that he has been replaced as CO of the 3rd MRD by Colonel Eduard Schwab (former COS 144th MRD) by no later than August 2022. He might have been killed in a HIMARS strike on the HQ of the 20th CAA (June 17 or June 24, 2022). He is slightly less likely to have been killed than the other generals affiliated with the 20th CAA because if he and Sleptsov (see below) were killed together, it does not make sense that Schwab (the COS of Sleptsov's 144th MRD) would replace Avdeev rather than Sleptsov. Also there are rumors from much earlier that many of his subordinates complained about his poor command decisions and there was allegedly an effort to see him removed from command.

Иванаев Андрей Сергеевич
Ivanaev Andrey Sergeevich

Major General Ivanaev is determined to be the former CO of the 20th CAA. He is suspected to have been killed in a HIMARS strike on the HQ of the 20th CAA (June 17 or June 24, 2022). According to Ukrainian sources Major General Tsokov Oleg has been CO of the 20th CAA since the summer, which coincides with the timing of the June HIMARS strikes.

Sources:
ukrinform.net
t.me/sovinformbureau 
function.mil.ru
vrn.kp.ru

Игнатенко Александр Николаевич
Ignatenko Aleksandr Nikolaevich

Major General Ignatenko was the CO of the 29th CAA from at least September 2022. On October 5, 2022 Ukrainian sources reported a hit on the HQ of the 29th CAA, with the commanding officer reportedly wounded. In early January 2023, Major General Bolgarev Pyotr Nikolaevich was announced as the CO of the 29th CAA at an event, with no mention of Ignatenko.

Sources:
stopcor.org
chita.ru (1)
chita.ru (2)

Лямин Денис Игоревич 
Lyamin Denis Igorevich

Lieutenant General Lyamin is likely to have been the CO of the 58th CAA. There are reports of a late December 2022 HIMARS strike on the HQ of the 58th CAA. Given this, he could have been a victim of the strike.

Sources:
presidentruo.org
orenburg.bezformata.com
news.liga.net
dumskaya.net
charter97.org

Митяев Олег Юрьевич
Mityaev Oleg Yurievich

Major General Mityaev was last known as the CO of the 150th MRD. He was reportedly killed in a combat operation on the Ilyich Plant in Mariupol. Photographs emerged of his alleged body and Russian military blogger WarGonzo reported recovering the corpse of a general when the plant was finally taken.

Sources:

Никитин Евгений Валентинович
Nikitin Evgeny Valentinovich

Major General Nikitin was reportedly the DC of the 41st CAA until June and vanished thereafter. Reportedly, units of the 41st CAA were heavily engaged either in Severodonetsk or Lysychansk around the time of his disappearance from reports. On Russian Wikipedia, Nikitin is listed as a DC until June, and no explanation or reference is provided on why he has left. There have been no reports of him resurfacing after that.

Sources:
hromadske.ua
wikipedia.org

Плохотнюк Валерий Владимирович
Plokhotnyuk Valery Vladimirovich

All available evidence points to Major General Plokhotnyuk being the COS of the 49th CAA during the start of the invasion. If he was, and if reports about the HQ strike on April 22, 2022 are accurate, he had to have been one of the 3 generals reported as casualties during that strike. Note that some armies only have one or two generals, the rest of the command staff are colonels, and the 49th is not quite in the upper tier of armies in regards to its overall strength. However, it is plausible that the 49th CAA had at least 3 generals but almost certainly not more than this. Typically most armies have 5 senior officers, the CO, the COS, and then Deputy Commanders. The CO is always at least an MG, but the COS and the DC's can be colonels.

Sources:
stpku.mil.ru
stavropol.er.ru
interpressnews.ge
nv.ua

Пятаев Андрей Юрьевич
Pyataev Andrey Yurievich

Major General Pyataev was the Chief of Staff of the 20th CAA. He may have been one of the casualties of the HIMARS strike on the HQ of the 20th CAA (June 17 or June 24). He was second in line, behind Ivanaev, yet it appears he was skipped over in favor MG Tsokov (see above) who was likely COS of the 2nd CAA.

Sources:
function.mil.ru
news.rambler.ru
military-news.press
topgun.rin.ru

Резанцев Яков Владимирович
Rezantsev Yakov Vladimirovich

Lieutenant General Rezantsev was allegedly killed during an artillery or MLRS strike on Chornobaivka. Alternatively, he may have been one of the three 49th CAA casualties mentioned above.

Sources:
unian.net
infobae.com
kp.ua
nevinnomissk.bezformata.com
mil.ru
vk.com

Санчик Александр Семенович
Sanchik Aleksandr Semenovich

Lieutenant General Sanchik was the CO of the 35th CAA Belogorsk. He was allegedly hit in the same attack that saw his COS, MG Sergey Nyrkov severely wounded by a sniper (later recovered). An unproven rumor originating from Chinese sources, talked about his alleged death as a result of his injuries. Ukraine did not consider Sanchik a confirmed casualty, because they could not confirm whether they hit him. Additionally, at a later point Ukraine reportedly found orders signed by Sanchik relating to the withdrawal of the 35th CAA from the Kyiv axis. It should be noted that Russia does have a history of pretending its dead commanders are still alive.

Sources:
zhihu.com
dnepr.express
pda.mil.ru
gazeta-bam.ru
rus.lb.ua
asn24.ru
ampravda.ru
ua-football.com

Симонов Андрей Дмитриевич
Simonov Andrey Dimtrievich

Major General Simonov’s exact position in the army is unclear. He may have been near General Valery Gerasimov during the artillery strike that reportedly injured Gerasimov.

Sources:
zhzh.info
kp.ua
dialog.ua

Слепцов Виталий Владимирович
Sleptsov Vitaly Vladimirovich

Major General Sleptsov was in command of the 144th MRD. He may have been one of the casualties of the HIMARS strike on the HQ of the 20th CAA (June 17 or June 24).

Sources:
sanctions.nazk.gov.ua
regnum.ru
roslavl.ru

Трубиенко Тимур Николаевич
Trubienko Timur Nikolaevich

Major General Trubienko was the 1st DC of the 20th CAA. He may have been one of the casualties of the HIMARS strike on the HQ of the 20th CAA (June 17 or June 24). He was second or third in line, behind Ivanaev (and Pyataev?), yet it appears he was skipped over in favor MG Tsokov (see above) who was likely COS of the 2nd CAA.

Sources:
russian-torturers.com
gordonua.com
sanctions.nazk.gov.ua
news.rambler.ru

Цоков Олег Юрьевич
Tsokov Oleg Yurievich

Reportedly, Major General Tskov was heavily wounded in a strike on the HQ of the 144th MRD near Svatove. While Telegram sources claimed he was recovering, he has not reappeared since he was wounded.

Sources:
vk.com
24tv.ua

Rejected (6)

These are claimed or suspected losses we currently consider unlikely to be true. The degree of certainty of these estimations varies, but they are presented in alphabetical order, not in order of likelihood to be untrue.

Герасимов Виталий Петрович
Gerasimov Vitaly Petrovich

Major General Gerasimov was claimed killed by Ukrainian sources as of March 7, 2022. A video of Gerasimov receiving an award from Colonel General Lapin has emerged since claims of his death occurred. The video was suspiciously similar to a video related to Anton Kuprin. However, we consider this loss unlikely at present.

Sources:
gur.gov.ua
t.me/RVvoenkor

Колесников Андрей Борисович
Kolesnikov Andrey Borisovich

Major General Kolesnikov was the CO of the 29th CAA. He was claimed killed by Ukrainian sources on March 11, 2022. Western intelligence have also confirmed the death of a third Russian general around that time, without explicitly naming him. In September 2022, Major General Ignatenko Aleksandr Nikolaevich was presented as the CO of the 29th CAA, with no previous known mention of the destiny of Kolesnikov. However, he resurfaced in February 2023, and he was mentioned as being the commanding officer for the Russian forces in Aleppo, Syria.

Sources:
t.me/Pravda_Gerashchenko
www.bbc.com
function.mil.ru
mlyn.by

Тушаев Магомед Салаудинович
Tushayev Magomed Salaudinovich

Major General Tushayev was claimed killed by Ukrainian sources on February 26, 2022 near Hostomel. Multiple denials were later released, including a video of the general denying his own death. Currently he is determined to be alive, and he was also determined to be a Lieutenant Colonel.

Sources:
twitter.com/KilledInUkraine
en.interfax.com.ua
chechnyatoday.com
www.bbc.com

Ульянов Дмитрий Александрович
Ulyanov Dmitry Alexandrovich

The issue here is not the death but the claims that Ulyanov was a major general. The original source of his death mentioned him as a major general, but since then suspicion has arisen and evidence has emerged that he might have been a colonel. We have included him in the list as a retired colonel for now.

Sources:
twitter.com/KilledInUkraine
t.me/nottourists
vk.com
1000inf.ru

An Unidentified FSB General and an Unidentified General of the 49th CAA

To date there has been zero clarification and the generals in question have not yet been identified despite Arestovych's insistence so this can be rejected for now.

Sources:
podrobnosti.ua

Wounded generals

In addition to the aforementioned generals, at least two generals have been confirmed wounded, but they have since recovered. They were both claimed wounded in the early days of the war:

Nyrkov Sergey Semenovich (Нырков Сергей Семенович) is the former COS of the 35th CAA. He was later reportedly transferred to Air Defence Command.

Seritsky Andrey Anatolievich (Серицкий Андрей Анатольевич) is the former DC of the 36th CAA. He is now reportedly the COS of the 14th Army Corps.


© KilledInUkraine