Six Russian generals are believed to have been killed and a Lieutenant Colonel captured in Ukraine as Vladimir Putin’s lightning invasion plan has been derailed, western officials said on Wednesday.
The senior officer captured may be linked to a sizeable amount of electronic warfare equipment that was also seized.
Some 20 Russian generals have taken part in the invasion, according to the officials, with those killed having been replaced.
They stressed that Russian advances “continued to stall” on Day 28 of the conflict, including around Kyiv, from Kherson to Mykolaiv and in the Donbas region to the east of the country where there are the two breakaway areas of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Ukrainian forces have carried out limited counterattacks, leading to Russian military equipment being destroyed and the capture of Russian personnel including the Lieutenant Colonel.
After Mr Putin’s initial invasion plan has disintegrated, his forces are now increasing using “dumb” munitions in air strikes to bombard the besieged city of Mariupol including 500-1000 pound bombs, as well as indiscriminate shelling, which will lead to more civilian casualties, one official said.
The air strikes and shelling continue across the country focusing on the capital, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv and other cities, with heavy fighting in the southern city of Mariupol
Around 7,000 thousand residents were evacuated from Mariupol on Tuesday, but more than 100,000 are believed to remain inside the city where there is “chronic shortages” of food and clean water.
It comes as one of Mr Putin’s closest advisors quit his role and fled Russia over the disastrous invasion.
Russia’s climate envoy, Anatoly Chubais, dramatically defected. Western officials said it was a “significant statement” but the Russian president still had a “ iron grip” on the Kremlin.
“[Chubais] has got a long history that goes all the way back through previous regimes, particularly the sort of tail end of Gorbachev and was was a key figure in the Yeltsin era,” they said.
“He’s something of a peripheral finger in the sense that he’s not aligned with the hardcore Putin regime, but he’s still a representative of the administration and therefore, I think it is a significant statement.
“It’s encouraging that there are senior members of the Russian political class that are doing such things, but it doesn’t lead me to a conclusion that this is in any way undermining the kind of the security of Putin and his regime given the kind of the iron grip that he holds.”
In London, the Prime Minister spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday afternoon.
A Downing Street spokesman said Boris Johnson was updated on the latest developments on the ground in Ukraine.
“The Prime Minister reiterated his admiration for the bravery of the Ukrainian armed forces and their success in repulsing Russia’s onslaught,” the spokesman added.
“He said the bombardment of civilian areas, including the siege of Mariupol, is unconscionable and demands a response from the international community.
“The Prime Minister set out his intention to use tomorrow’s G7 and NATO meetings to increase the pressure on Vladimir Putin’s regime and work with partners to substantively increase defensive lethal aid to Ukraine.”
