Ukraine claims it killed senior Russian general near Kharkiv

Kyiv releases audio it says is of an intercepted phone call of Russian officers lamenting death of Maj. Gen. Vitaly Gerasimov

LVIV, Ukraine — A Russian general was killed in the fighting around Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, which Russian forces have been trying to seize since the invasion began, the Ukrainian military intelligence agency said.

It identified him as Maj. Gen. Vitaly Gerasimov, 45, and said he had fought with Russian forces in Syria and Chechnya and had taken part in the seizure of Crimea in 2014.

It was not possible to confirm the death independently. Russia has not commented.

Another Russian general was killed earlier in the fighting. A local officers’ organization in Russia confirmed the death in Ukraine of Maj. Gen. Andrei Sukhovetsky, the commanding general of the Russian 7th Airborne Division.

Sukhovetsky also took part in Russia’s military campaign in Syria.

Christo Grozev, the executive director of the investigative journalism group Bellingcat, tweeted that Gerasimov’s death was confirmed by a Russian source.

Grozev also wrote that Ukraine intercepted a phone call between a Russian officer and his boss informing him of Gerasimov’s death, and also noting that the Russian military’s encrypted phones are not working.

The Ukrainian defense ministry released audio of the call, purportedly made with a local SIM card, where the two Russian officers can be heard lamenting Gerasimov’s death.