Ukraine Kills Its 49th Russian Colonel of the Invasion So Far

That adds up to one Russian colonel killed every other day of the invasion so far, an unusually high casualty rate for such senior officers in any army of any war.

This would be a mere data side note were it not for the fact that Russian military doctrine relies on more senior officers to perform leadership tasks usually assigned to junior officers in NATO armies, suggesting that Russia's command and control issues are not improving, a reality that could further hinder its performance. JL 

SofRep reports:

A 49th colonel of the Russian army has been killed in action in Ukraine. The 49th Russian colonel to be killed was Lieutenant Colonel Zaur Dimayev, deputy commander of the 4th Battalion of the Akhmat Kadyrov Special Forces Regiment. Dimayev was a close ally of Chechen Head of the Republic Ramzan Kadyrov. According to reports, Dimayev had been riding in a military vehicle when they were hit by Ukrainian artillery Tuesday in the village of Kamyshevakha in Luhansk. This follows the death of Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Dosyagaev, commander of the 104th Air Assault Regiment’s 2nd Battalion, a few days ago.

While Russia is spending upwards of $900 million a day on the war in Ukraine, the only place they seem to be saving a few rubles is on future retirement benefits of Russian officers. The 49th colonel of the Russian army has been reported killed in action in Ukraine. As unprecedented as it may seem, Russia has lost some 10 to 12 Russian generals and dozens of senior officials in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in just four months.

The 49th Russian colonel to be killed was reported to be Lieutenant Colonel Zaur Dimayev, the deputy commander of the 4th Battalion of the Akhmat Kadyrov Special Forces Regiment. Dimayev was reported to be a close ally of Chechen Head of the Republic Ramzan Kadyrov, a known warlord.

According to initial reports, Dimayev had been riding in a military vehicle when they were hit with Ukrainian artillery shells last Tuesday in the village of Kamyshevakha in Luhansk. This resulted in the death of the driver, two Chechen police officers, and Dimayev. Four others were reported to be injured. However, we cannot confirm this as of this time.

Ukraine’s AFU Strategic Communications reported the death on their Facebook page yesterday:

“Operation don don don is underway. To the vip-fans of the creativity of kobzon has joined Deputy Commander of the 4th Battalion Regiment named after Kadyrov Lieutenant Colonel Zaur Dimaev. He missed his topography class, so he returned home properly.”

This follows the death of Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Dosyagaev, the Russian VDV commander of the 104th Air Assault Regiment’s 2nd Battalion, just a few days ago. The deceased colonel was reportedly part of the parachute Infantry of Russia, which is reported to be one of Russia’s most elite.

“Sleep well, combat [comrade],” a certain Arytom Panov said. “You will always remain in my memory as one of the best officers of the Airborne Forces. It is a pity to lose such servicemen. It takes pride that I served side by side with you.🙏🙏🙏,” he continued.

Another Russian Colonel, Vladimir Ivanov, was also killed in Ukraine recently. He was part of the Russian Defense Ministry’s press service. He allegedly died last March 25 and was confirmed by independent journalists through the use of the Getcontact application, which allows users to know a number’s caller ID. Further information on Ivanov reveals that he was a propagandist.

Read Next: The Slaughter of Russian Colonels Continues: Lt. Col. Savinov Killed By Ukrainian Forces

These deaths also follow the shoot down of retired Russian Major General Kanamat Botashev, who was believed to be shot down in Popasna while flying in a Su-25 fighter jet. The retired Russian General was dismissed in 2013 as he and another high-ranking Russian officer, Colonel Yevhen Oliynyk, went on an unauthorized joy ride in a Su-27UB. Oliynyk had lost control over the fighter jet while doing some tricks and maneuvers. This led them to get booted out of the military.

The retired Russian General apparently could not stay away from the action and later allegedly joined the Wagner Group to fight in Ukraine, a group of former Russian military personnel who now acts as Putin’s private army. Russia uses the mercenary group to unofficially interfere with foreign conflicts, so they cannot be held internationally liable for their actions.

According to US intel, Russia had 150,000 soldiers ready to invade Ukraine last February. Recent estimates state that some 20% had been rendered out of action, which means the Ukrainian Armed Forces have taken out some 30,000 Russians. If we were to tally this with the projected amount of wounded, this number would be higher. If the ratio of wounded to killed still stands at 2-4 wounded for each person killed in the war, the total number of incapacitated Russian troops would be somewhere from 60,000 to 120,000. Given the lack of proper medical care and apparent absense of field hospitals to treat their wounded, the number of wounded Russian soldiers succumbing to their injuries may be much higher than the numbers being reported by Ukraine.

Ukrainian estimates of Russian losses as of June 2 are at around 30,850 troops, which is not far off from the US estimate. This is accompanied by losses of some 1,363 tanks, 3,354 APVs, 661 artillery systems, 210 fighter planes, 175 helicopters, 521 UAVs, and some 120 cruise missiles.

The death of these top military officers is not new. Most recently, a verified interception of a call between two Russian colonels revealed that troops sent to Ukraine did not know anything about combat and were merely taught to salute, confirming speculation that Russia has sent barely conscripts to fight in Ukraine. Untrained personnel out in the field were determined to have low morale as they were lied to about their true intentions in Ukraine. They had experienced food and fuel supply issues, which led to the further degradation of their morale. In the attempt to get these green troops into the fight, Russian colonels and generals have had to go directly to the front lines to personally lead these men into combat, with the results we are now seeing.

These incompetent decision making led the two Russian colonels to curse Putin directly:

“Even if they hit the wrong f*cking place, let them be f*cking scared, shoot the f*cking train stations, shoot the f*cking railways, for f*ck’s sake,” he said. “A f*cking rocket should fly into the Verkhovna Rada [Ukraine’s Parliament] in Kyiv. That’s it, f*ck it. Why didn’t [a rocket] fucking fly? I don’t f*cking get it, you’re f*cked, Putin—motherf*cker!”

Currently, the Russians are making progress in the city of Severodonetsk, which is about 70% controlled by Russians. If successful in invading Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, they will now have control over the entirety of Luhansk – one of two regions in Donbas. The question then becomes whether they can hold it with Ukraine on the offensive.