Major General Vitaly Gerasimov, who took part in the second Chechen war, the war in Syria and the annexation of Crimea, was the fourth high-ranking Russian military official killed in Ukraine, according to a source that said he died in a battle near Kharkiv.
A sniper has killed Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky, Russia’s most senior officer leading the Ukraine invasion. Sukhovetsky, 47, was the commanding general of Russia’s 7th Airborne Division and deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army.
Two other top Russian military officials have been killed in Ukraine, a divisional commander and regimental commander who died as a convoy of Russian tanks and other vehicles continued to struggle while heading for the capital city of Kyiv
More than 11,000 Russian troops have been killed since Moscow launched an illegal invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, said the Ukrainian armed forces’ general staff on Sunday.
The Russian Federation’s actions constitute a blatant breach of international law and treaties, deserving of unequivocal international condemnation and the world community appears united on that front but officials there are making excuses.
“The goal of Russia’s special military operation is to stop any war that could take place on Ukrainian territory or that could start from there,” claimed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
The world’s biggest economies have slapped Russia with a bevy of economic penalties after its invasion of Ukraine, but Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a series of threats against Western powers, saying the sanctions imposed on his country are “equivalent of a declaration of war.”
The Russian military has begun monitoring United States destroyers that entered the Baltic Sea.
“The forces of the Baltic Fleet have begun monitoring the activities of the U.S. Navy destroyers armed with guided missile weapons, USS Donald Cook and USS Forrest Sherman, which have entered the Baltic Sea,” Russia’s National Defense Control Center said on Monday .
The United States, EU, Britain, Switzerland, Japan, Canada plus others have banned transactions with Russia’s central bank, moved to freeze Russian assets and imposed sanctions on numerous government and business figures.
Visa, Mastercard, American Express, PayPal and others have blocked Russian banks from using their networks and most Russian banks have been excluded from the SWIFT system that facilitates global financial transactions, but EU countries are still buying Russian oil and gas for now.
Italian police seized villas and yachts worth $156 million from five high-profile Russians, the government said on Saturday.
The EU, United States, Canada and Britain have shut their airspace to Russia, banning all Russian aircraft from taking off, landing or overflying their territory. A host of countries including Singapore, Japan and Switzerland, have imposed export controls denying Russia access to access to advanced technology.
EU nations also said Monday they would begin examining membership applications submitted by Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova in the wake of Russia’s invasion, a move sure to antagonize Moscow.
At least 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees have fled to neighboring countries, while it is thought the number could rise to as many as four million by July.
The United Nations says there have been more than 1,000 civilian casualties since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, including 351 killed, among them 10 children, and 707 wounded.
However, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) believes the real figures are considerably higher, especially in government-controlled territories.
Russian forces killed the mayor of the Ukrainian town of Hostomel, local officials say, as he was distributing bread to residents trapped by Moscow’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
The town council of Hostomel, northwest of the capital, Kyiv, said in a post on Facebook that Mayor Yuriy Prylypko, and two of his associates, Ivan Zorya and Ruslan Karpenko, were shot dead as they tried to help those still in the town.
Russia said it would open humanitarian corridors for civilians to flee Ukrainian cities that are under attack, but Kiev accused Moscow of making it impossible for innocent people to escape.
French President Emmanuel Macron called the offer “hypocritical” and criticized the “cynicism” exhibited by Moscow, which will allow Ukrainians to escape only to Russia or Belarus.
Another attempt is expected Tuesday, following the latest round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.