Russia's top military commander killed in Ukraine

Major General Andrei Sukhovitsky, the commanding general of the Russian 7th Airborne Division, was killed during fighting in Ukraine earlier this week.

A local organization of officers confirmed his death in the Krasnodar region in southern Russia, while the circumstances of his death were not immediately clear.

Sukhovitsky, at the age of 47, began his military service as a platoon commander after graduating from the Military Academy and continued to rise to take important leadership positions, and participated in Russia's military campaign in Syria, and was also deputy commander of the 41st Mixed Arms Army.

A military source said that Major General Sokhovsky was killed by a sniper's bullet.

The Russian newspaper Pravda, which also reported his death, reported that Sukhovetsky graduated from the Ryazan Higher Airborne School in 1995, having started as a platoon commander before rising to the post of chief of staff of the Guards' air assault unit.

"With great pain, we learned of the tragic news of the death of our friend, Major General Andrei Sokhovitsky, on the territory of Ukraine during the special operation. We express our sincere condolences to his family," Sergei Chepelev, a deputy Russian veteran, wrote on social media.

A funeral service will be held in Novorossiysk, but no further details were immediately released.

Russia says 498 of its soldiers have been killed in Ukraine and 1,597 wounded, while British officials say the actual number of Russian dead and wounded in Ukraine will certainly be much higher, and will continue to rise.

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