Vladimir Putin has lost his eighth general fighting in Ukraine, in another major blow to his war effort.
Major General Vladimir Frolov, deputy commander of the 8th Combined Arms Army, was laid to rest with full military honours in St Petersburg.
It is unknown how he died or where he met his demise.
His unit is believed to have been deployed in the area around besieged Mariupol.
Alexander Beglov, the governor of St Petersburg, said at his burial: “A true patriot, a brave and brave man, he honestly and to the end fulfilled his military and human duty.
“The people will not forget their heroes. Eternal memory to him.”
He claimed Frolov had “fallen a heroic death in battle with Ukrainian nationalists”, following Russia's twisted portrayal of the invasion.
His death followed seven other Russian generals killed in the war, although the Kremlin has only publicly acknowledged the death of one, Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky, who was believed shot by a sniper.
Last month experts revealed there are a catalogue of reasons why several senior Russian officers have fallen in the invasion.
It comes amid reports of unreliable equipment and electronics amongst Russian forces, as well as subordinates being too terrified to make quick decisions.
Former US army general and CIA director David Petraeus said Ukraine also has "good snipers" which are able to target key individuals when a Russian chain of command breaks down.
He said: "The communications have been jammed. The column gets stopped, and an impatient general goes forward to see what’s going on.
"There’s no initiative, no non-commissioned officer corps, no sense of initiative at junior levels. They wait to be told what to do, and the Ukrainians have very, very good snipers."
An anonymous diplomat also told Foreign Policy that generals were "struggling on the front line to get their orders through".
Russia has also lost another colonel, Miras Bashakov, a tank battalion commander, according to reports today.
He was the 34th colonel known to have died in a war that has haemorrhaged Putin’s battlefield top brass.
The scale of the high ranking death toll defies Vladimir Putin ’s claim that his “special military operation” is going according to plan.
The overall Russian losses since the war began on 24 February are believed to be in the region of 20,000 but Moscow has failed to give accurate figures.
Analysts believe Russian commanders are now suffering a higher casualty rate than in any conflict since World War Two.
