Russian Maj. Gen. Andrei Sukhovetsky was murdered while fighting in Ukraine, according to the Novorossiysk city authorities in Russia.
In a 3 March statement, the government said Sukhovetsky died on Feb. 28.
He died “while performing a combat mission during a special operation in Ukraine.”
Before his death, Sukhovetsky was the deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army of the Russian Ground Forces.
He had previously served in the Russian military during operations in the North Caucasus region and Syria, the statement said.
Since the start of the invasion it’s unclear how many people on both sides of the conflict have been killed; according to Reuters, Ukraine puts Russia’s losses at 11,000, while Russia claims only 500 troops killed. Neither side has published Ukrainian casualties, Reuters reported.
It’s also unclear how many civilians have been caught in the crossfire. The United Nations said in a news release that while they have verified 1,123 civilian casualties between the beginning of the invasion and March 5 — 364 people killed, and 759 people injured — that count is “likely to be a considerable underestimate of the true numbers.” As of Monday, 1.7 million people had fled Ukraine as refugees.