Pro-Kremlin separatists confirm Russian general’s death in Ukraine fighting

MOSCOW — Pro-Kremlin separatists in Ukraine confirm the death of another Russian general during Moscow’s military campaign in the country.

The death of Major General Roman Kutuzov was reported earlier by a war correspondent for Russian state TV but has not been confirmed by officials in Moscow.

The leader of Ukraine’s pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, today expresses his “sincere condolences to the family and friends” of Kutuzov, “who showed by example how to serve the fatherland.”

“As long as our generals fight shoulder to shoulder with soldiers, our country and our nation will be invincible,” Pushilin says on Telegram, posting a black and white photo of Kutuzov.

The announcement comes as Russian forces and their separatist allies are carrying out a major assault on Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, with fierce fighting taking place for the city of Severodonetsk.

Since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, Ukraine’s forces claimed to have killed several of Russia’s top brass but their exact number is not known as Moscow is tight-lipped on its losses.

In late March, hundreds gathered in Russia-annexed Crimea for the funeral of Andrei Paliy, the deputy commander of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, who died in combat near Ukraine’s port city of Mariupol.

In April, a funeral for Major General Vladimir Frolov was held in Russia’s second city, Saint Petersburg, with local authorities confirming that he met a “heroic death” in Ukraine.