Seventh Russian General Reportedly Killed in Ukraine

A seventh Russian general has reportedly died in Ukraine.

According to reports, Lieutenant General Yakov Rezantsev, commander of the 49th Combined Arms Army, perished in a strike on his command post at Chirobayevka airfield in Kherson.

An advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the press that Gen. Rezantsev participated in the Siege of Mariupol, where Russian attacks have killed thousands of civilians.

Rezantsev told his increasingly frustrated troops on the invasion’s fourth day that the war would be over quickly. His words came true enough for himself.

Some Russian soldiers, broken by the strain of the fighting, extreme casualties and the indignities of war exacerbated by the Kremlin’s poor planning, have begun taking action into their own hands. One tank crew reportedly waited for the right moment to run over its unit’s commanding officer outside Kyiv.

Though it’s unclear how Rezantsev met his demise, ret. U.S. Army General and public official David Petraeus recently described how Ukraine has managed to eliminate one-fourth of Russia’s frontline generals participating in the invasion:

Former US army general and CIA director David Petraeus said Ukraine also has “good snipers” which are able to target key individuals when a Russian chain of command breaks down.

He said: “The communications have been jammed. The column gets stopped, and an impatient general goes forward to see what’s going on.

“There’s no initiative, no non-commissioned officer corps, no sense of initiative at junior levels. They wait to be told what to do, and the Ukrainians have very, very good snipers.”

A senior Pentagon official said Friday afternoon that Russian forces no longer fully occupy Kherson, with Ukrainian forces having pushed the front lines back into the city. The announcement contradicts Russia’s General Staff, which declared the strategically important port city remained under their “full control.”

The New York Times adds:

Any Ukrainian success in taking back Kherson would be a huge blow to Mr. Putin’s war effort, making it harder for Russia to follow through on any plans to seize control of Ukraine’s Black Sea coast and the southern port of Odessa, defense officials said. Losing Kherson would also endanger Russian troops who have been fighting in nearby Mykolayiv, the Pentagon official said.