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Vladimir Putin loses 100th colonel in Ukraine highlighting scale of Russian losses in war

Vladimir Putin loses 100th colonel in Ukraine highlighting scale of Russian losses in war

Vladimir Putin has now lost at least 100 colonels in the war in Ukraine highlighting the grave damage his forces are suffering.

Video has emerged of the grief-stricken family of Lt-Col Vitaly Tsikul, 36, a tank commander, at his funeral.

He is the 100th known colonel or lieutenant colonel in Russian forces to be killed in the five-and-a-half month war.

He served in the Russian 90th Tank Division, military unit 86274, part of Putin’s Central Military District.

A married father of two, he was accorded full military honours at his funeral which took place at an Orthodox Church in Chebarkul in the Urals.

 (social media/ East2west News)
(social media/ East2west News)

No details have emerged about the circumstances of his death in Ukraine.

A soldier at the funeral, named Viktor, said: “He was our commander.

“I did not hear a single bad word from him. He was an officer who rallied his troops.”

Russia has also lost at least a dozen generals in the war.

Some estimates say Mr Putin has lost more than 50,000 troops in a savage war he unleashed in Europe. On Monday the Pentagon said Russia has suffered an estimated 70,000-80,000 casualities since it launched its invasion of Ukraine in February.

The toll of high ranking officers is likely to be higher since Russia seeks to hide its losses.

The vast majority of known losses emerge from unofficial sources such as in local media or social media reports.

Tsikul was killed last month but details only emerged now of his funeral following the repatriation of his corpse.

The high number of deaths have not led to mass protests against Putin’s war as some in the West believed they would.

Draconian laws have been put in place to stop dissenters voicing their views or taking to the streets to oppose the conflict in Ukraine.