Who was Andrei Sukhovetsky? Ukrainian defense forces kill top Russian general
In a major blow to Russia, Ukrainian defense forces have reportedly killed Russian Maj Gen Andrei Sukhovetsky earlier this week in combat. The Kremlin-backed Pravda has confirmed that Sukhovetsky was killed "during a special operation in Ukraine". Talking about his death, former CIA officer and station chief Dan Hoffman said, "If it’s true, it’s big."
Sukhovetsky's death has not been officially confirmed by Russia's Ministry of Defence, but was announced on social media by his colleague Sergey Chipilyov. It was also reported by several Russian and Ukrainian news outlets.
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"With great pain, we learned the tragic news of the death of our friend, Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky, on the territory of Ukraine during the special operation," Chipilyov wrote, according to a translation published by the English-language Russian outlet, Pravda.ru. "We express our deepest condolences to his family."
Who was Andrei Sukhovetsky?
Sukhovetsky was the commanding general of the Russian 7th Airborne Division and a deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army. So far, he is the most senior Russian figure to have died in the conflict. Sukhovetsky graduated from the Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School in 1995. He began his career as a platoon commander, eventually climbing up to the chief of staff of the Guards airborne assault unit.
After Russian President Vladimir Putin deployed deadly weapons and also began considering nuclear options, it was speculated that he was afraid of losing the war. Russian troops became bogged down after an attempt to surround Kharkiv was in vain, with Ukrainian soldiers launching a scathing counter-attack on Russian armored vehicles by using British anti-tank missiles.
However, Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and editor of FDD's Long War Journal, does not believe that Putin is losing the war. "Sympathy for the outnumbered and outgunned defenders of Kyiv has led to the exaggeration of Russian setbacks, misunderstanding of Russian strategy, and even baseless claims from amateur psychoanalysts that Putin has lost his mind," the Daily Mail quoted Roggio as saying. "A more sober analysis shows that Russia may have sought a knockout blow, but always had well-laid plans for follow-on assaults if its initial moves proved insufficient. The world has underestimated Putin before and those mistakes have led, in part, to this tragedy in Ukraine. We must be clear-eyed now that the war is underway."
Moscow admitted that nearly 500 Russian soldiers were killed and 1,600 more were injured in its first report of casualties after the country invaded Ukraine. The figures came on Wednesday, March 2, shortly after Russia claimed it had not suffered any casualties during the war.
Putin could reportedly be deploying one of the deadliest weapons known to man to the country and is also considering nuclear options. Putin deployed a terrifying rocket system onto the battlefield after three days of defense by Ukrainian forces. In footage verified by CNN, the Russian army was seen moving TOS-1 Buratino rockets towards the front line. Meanwhile, Putin reportedly also ordered the military command to put nuclear deterrence forces on high alert following aggressive statements by NATO countries.