Ukraine Claims Killing Senior Russian General Gerasimov

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Ukraine Claims Killing Senior Russian General Gerasimov
Ukraine's Defence Ministry claims that a senior Russian military commander has been killed in a battle on the edge of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. According to Ukraine’s claims, Maj-Gen Vitaly Gerasimov, 41st Army chief of staff, died along with other Russian officers. Russia has not commented on claims. The Ukrainian defence ministry statement said Maj-Gen Gerasimov was a veteran of the second Chechen war in 1999-2000, the Russian military campaign in Syria and the annexation of Crimea in 2014. The claim is based on a purported intercept of expletive-ridden phone conversations between Russian security officials, which has not been verified.
The declaration also indicates that Russia can not establish a secure communication line. The first conversation revealed that the officials complain that secure communication lines have been lost and describe the situation as "very tight". According to the second communication, another official mentions that Maj-Gen Gerasimov was killed and gives several other names of wounded. The audio was initially posted with the Ukrainian defence ministry statement but has since been taken down, though posted on YouTube. It is known for Russia to have high-ranking officers in command posts. The reported death comes a week after Andrey Sukhovetsky, another deputy commander of the same army. Russian media confirmed the death. The investigative journalism agency Bellingcat said it had confirmed Gerasimov’s death with a Russian source. Its executive director, Christo Grozev, said they had also identified the senior FSB officer in the intercepted conversation.

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