According to posts on Russian social media, a high-ranking Russian military official, who was born in Kyiv but renounced Ukraine, was killed on the front lines.
Andriy Paliy, 51, commander of the Black Sea Fleet, was shot dead by Ukrainian forces near the war-torn city of Mariupol, making him the first Russian naval chief and sixth senior military leader to die since the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine began last month.
Konstantin Tsarenko, who used to work with Paly at the Russian Naval School in Sevastopol, announced the death of the naval commander on the Russian social network VKontakte, reports The Telegraph.
Tsarenko has since removed the post, but former naval officer Igor Savostin has also reported Paly’s death, the newspaper reported.
Andrey Paly is the first Russian naval commander and the sixth high-ranking military leader to die after the invasion of Ukraine.mil.in.ua
The death of Andrey Paliy has not been confirmed by the Russian authorities. SEGA VOLSKII/AFP via Getty Images
Paliy died “like a true commissar, leading the marines into battle,” Savostin wrote.
The navy commander was born in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, but swore allegiance to the Kremlin after the collapse of the Soviet Union, moving to Russia and joining its navy, according to The Telegraph. He was probably involved in the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014 and was located on the Black Sea.
His death has not been confirmed by the Russian authorities and the exact date of his death is unknown.
Russian invasion of Ukraine on March 19, 2022.
Civilians stranded in Mariupol are evacuated by groups controlled by pro-Russian separatists through other cities, in Mariupol, Ukraine March 20, 2022. Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Ukrainian officials said on Saturday that the Russian Lieutenant General Andrey Mordvichev, commander of the 8th Army of the Southern Military District, died when the armed forces destroyed the command post at the airfield in Kherson, a port city in southern Ukraine. According to Ukraine, he became the fifth general to die in action.