“Yakov Rezanchev is the second Russian lieutenant general to die in the war against Ukraine,” the ministry wrote on Twitter on Friday. “This is becoming a typical history of Russian generals. #DeadRussianGenerals.” Lt. Gen. Yakov Rezantsev is said to have been killed during a Ukrainian attack on Chornobaivka air base near Kherson, Ukraine, the BBC reported. The air base has been used as a base for Russia, as its advance into Ukraine has been stopped by the Ukrainian resistance. A Western official said Rezanchev, who commanded Russia’s 49th Combined Army, was the seventh general to die during the fighting. Morale was low among Russian forces, prompting the generals to become more directly involved in the fighting, according to the BBC. The news comes after Russian Colonel Yuri Medvedev was defeated by his own men with tanks this week. The 37th Motorized Rifle Brigade reportedly turned against him after several men were killed during the attack. Medvedev’s legs were injured and he was taken to hospital where a Western official said he had died, according to the British agency. The official said he died “as a result of the scale of the losses suffered by his own brigade”. NATO estimates that some 40,000 Russians have been killed since the beginning of the invasion. The Ukrainian army was relatively successful in repelling significant Russian military gains. Ukrainian forces have seized the capital, Kiev, and U.S. officials said Friday that the former Soviet Union’s army had partially recaptured the city of Kherson, which was first occupied by the Kremlin at the start of the war. Updated at 9:12 a.m.
