A Russian commander has been deliberately killed by his own troops after the unit he was leading suffered heavy losses during fighting in Ukraine.
Colonel Yuri Medvedev, commander of 37 Motor Rifle Brigade, was run over by a tank driven by his own soldiers, according to an unnamed western official, who said the action was taken 'as a consequence of the scale of losses that had been taken by his brigade'.
He would be the seventh Russian general to have died since the invasion of Ukraine began a month ago.
Earlier this week it was reported by a Ukrainian journalist that Medvedev had been seriously injured after both his legs were crushed when he was run over by his own troops, with the western official's claims suggesting he has since died from his injuries.
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Roman Tsymbalyuk reported that Medvedev had been run over by a tank after being blamed for the deaths of more than half of the 1,500 men under his command during fighting in Makariv, a town near Kyiv that was recaptured by Ukrainian forces this week.
In a video reportedly shared to social media by Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov earlier this month, a man purported to be Medvedev was seen being treated by Chechen troops following the incident.
The commander was said to have been transported to a medical facility in Belarus. His death has not been confirmed by Ukraine or Russia.
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Killings of senior military officers by their own troops – known as 'fragging' – have been reported during several wars, most notably in Vietnam, where hundreds of suspected incidents occurred involving US senior officers. The term 'fragging' refers to the fragmentation grenades that were often used by American soldiers in an effort to make the killings appear accidental.
Western officials and the Ukrainian government have claimed for several weeks that morale and discipline among Russian troops has broken down, with soldiers said to be frustrated by a lack of progress due to Ukrainian resistance and issues with supply chains and logistics that have left some units struggling to find food.
US defence officials say that in the area to the northwest of Kyiv, where the incident involving Medvedev is said to have taken place, Russian progress has largely stalled and may be being pushed back as Ukrainian forces launch counteroffensives.
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Topics: Russia, Ukraine, World News
Hannah Smith