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.