Colonel Alexei Sharov has become the latest Russian commander to die in the conflict
The Russian army has experienced its biggest loss of senior figures since World War II, after yet another commander was killed in the war in Ukraine.
Colonel Alexei Sharov, the commander of the 810th Marine Brigade, has become the 15th senior figure in the Russian army to die in the conflict after he was killed fighting near the besieged city of Mariupol.
According to The Sun, Sharov is the fifth colonel to die since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began.
The news comes as Russian forces continue to struggle to make meaningful gains in the face of fierce Ukrainian resistance.
Colonel Alexei Sharov, commander of the 810th Marine Brigade of the #Russian Army, was killed near #Mariupol. pic.twitter.com/1btjX3vBzz
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) March 23, 2022
On Sunday, the UN Human Rights Office announced that 902 Ukrainian civilians had died in the conflict so far, 75 of which were children – with a further 1,459 injured.
Mariupol is one of the worst-affected cities in the war. According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, an estimated 100,000 people are still trapped in “inhumane conditions” in the city.
In his regular evening address, the Ukrainian leader said: “There are about 100,000 people in the city – in inhumane conditions, in a complete blockade, no food, no water, no medicine, under constant shelling.”
He also accused Russian forces of blocking a humanitarian convoy trying to bring aid to the city.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy claims that humanitarian corridors have been under 'constant shelling and constant terror' as people attempt to leave Mariupol.
Latest: https://t.co/mow1H5SHII pic.twitter.com/876yRgfveb
— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 23, 2022
Like with most things, Russia has attempted to keep its military losses under wraps, giving a figure of just 498 deaths on March 2.
However on Monday, pro-Kremlin tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda reported that almost 10,000 Russian soldiers had died in the conflict.
The media outlet later claimed it had been the victims of a cyber attack and said the figure was fake news.
Komsomolskaya Pravda, the pro-Kremlin tabloid, says that according to Russian ministry of defense numbers, 9,861 Russian soldiers died in Ukraine and 16,153 were injured. The last official Russian KIA figure, on March 2, was 498. Fascinating that someone posted the leaked number. pic.twitter.com/LHrBWIQ49z
— Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) March 21, 2022
Ukrainian military sources claims to have killed more than 15,000 Russian troops.
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