Yet another senior Russian commander has been killed in the latest blow to Vladimir Putin, according to reports.
Captain Alexander Chirva was the senior officer on landing ship Ceasar Kunikov, part of the Black Sea Fleet, when he reportedly died in the Ukrainian port of Berdyansk.
It comes as Ukrainian officials estimate that 20,600 Russian troops have died since Vladimir Putin launched his illegal invasion.
His cause of death has not been revealed, but Russian state media claims he died saving the lives of fellow sailors.
Chirva's death was confirmed by governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhayev, who told Russia's TASS news agency: “Today we said goodbye to Alexander Grigorievich Chirva."
He paid courage to the captain's "courage, professionalism and experience".
It is not known when he died, but unconfirmed reports suggest it could have happened following Ukrainian strikes on the ship last month.
The ship was damaged in the onslaught, Ukraine said following the attack on March 24.
Chirva had previously served in Russia's bloody operations in Syria, according to reports.
The latest announcement comes following the sinking of the fleet's flagship, the Moskva, which was hit by Ukrainian missiles.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that Chriva's funeral was held in the Crimean city of Sevastopol, where he was from.
Earlier Ukraine's military said it estimated that 20,600 Russian troops had been lost since the start of the invasion in February.
Putin's forces are also claimed to have lost 790 tanks, 167 planes, eight boats and 147 helicopters.
Following the Moskova's sinking, the head of the Black Sea Fleet - Vice Admiral Igor Osipov - is said to have been detained by Russia.
The fleet's deputy commander, Captain 1st Rank Andrei Paliy, died in Ukraine last month.
The Moskova went down in the Black Sea last week after Kyiv said it launched a rocket strike, although the Kremlin claims the vessel was destroyed in an accident.
An anonymous conscript survivor was in tears as he told his mother of at least 40 crew members killed at the time, with “many missing” and maimed with lost limbs after a missile strike by the Ukrainians.
Parents of another conscript say they have found out some 200 were wounded - many with horrific burns and other major injuries.
The new accounts strongly dispute the official Russian version of the loss of Vladimir Putin ’s Black Sea Fleet flagship.
It remains unclear how many of the crew survived the sinking amid claims the dead may run into the hundreds. Russia has not revealed any information about survivors.
The young sailor who witnessed the carnage on the Moskva was revealed by Novaya Gazeta, Russia’s leading investigative media outlet, now operating from outside the country after being gagged by Putin.
“I first heard from him only on 15 April, two days after the incident,” said the distraught mother.
“My son said the cruiser was hit from the land, from the Ukrainian side, because the fire on board would not have started without a reason.
“There are people who were killed, wounded and missing.
“My son called me as soon as they all were given phones [after being rescued]. Their own documents and phones were on the [sunken} cruiser.
“He called me, and he cried over what he had seen. It was horrendous. Clearly not everyone survived.”
She said: “Most of the wounded have limbs torn off, because of the explosions from both the missiles and the detonated ammunition.
“He said: ‘Mamochka (tender for mum), I never thought I’d get into such a mess during supposedly peaceful times. I won’t even tell you the details of what I’ve seen, it was so horrendous’.”
