A Russian colonel has been run over and killed by his own troops, apparently angry over the devastating losses the unit suffered in combat, a Western security official said during a briefing to reporters on Friday
Colonel Medvechek, commanding the Russian 37th Motor Rifle Brigade, is believed to have been deliberately run down.
He is the seventh Russian general officer to be killed in combat since the invasion began a month ago – more than a third of those deployed at the start of the operation.
A Western official confirmed to the outlet:
“The brigade commander was killed by his own troops, we believe, as a consequence of the scale of losses that have been taken by his brigade,” one official said.
“We believe that he was killed by his own troops deliberately. We believe that he was run over by his own troops.”
commander of the 37th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, colonel Yuri Medvedev was run over by a tank of his own unit after casualties in . In 2021 one of his tank commanders won the national tank teams competition. pic.twitter.com/lvaTnwvEZ4
— Eerik N Kross (@EerikNKross) March 24, 2022
A Western official also said Russia’s failure to organize so far has been ‘remarkable’, pouring scorn on claims today that it had achieved the main military objectives.
This week, The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) also revealed that it believes that the Russian military has suffered up to 40,000 casualties during its invasion of Ukraine, which began one month ago.
In a further sign that Vladimir Putin is having to rethink his objectives, the Russian defense ministry said that having completed the “first phase” of operations they would now focus on the Donbas region, part-held by Russian-backed separatist rebels.
Western officials said it could mean a “pause” in operations around Kyiv and elsewhere as the Russians move resources into the east of the county.
One official added scathingly: “As the first phase of the operation included taking Kyiv within four days I would probably contest the idea that they have achieved the first phase of the operation.”
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