Vladimir Putin has lost his 40th colonel in Ukraine, it was confirmed today on Victory Day in Moscow.
Lt. Col. Alexander Blinov, 42, was killed in March, but news of his death was vigorously denied by Russian officials.
His death was confirmed by an image on his grave in Volgograd, southwestern Russia.
Blinov’s assassination marks a new milestone in Russia’s faltering invasion, with nine of Putin’s generals also known to have died since the war in Ukraine began on February 24.
The death of Lt. Col. Alexander Blinov, 42, is the latest milestone in Putin’s faltering invasion
News of Blinov’s death spread as Putin was speaking at the Victory Day army parade in Red Square
Blinov was a married father of three children. A family friend said: “For us it’s just a shock.”
He served in a motorized rifle unit.
News emerged yesterday that Putin’s 39th Colonel Fezul Bichikaev, 36, was killed.
The Lieutenant Colonel was a high-flying elite soldier who was reportedly killed on a top-secret intelligence mission.
Tanks were the main event in the Red Square parade this morning after the air show was reportedly canceled due to bad weather. Putin’s fearsome “Doomsday” plane should fly
A Soviet-era T-34 tank that saw action in World War II was part of the 77th anniversary celebrations
The father-of-three was reportedly portrayed as a hero who was killed near Kharkiv “with a machine gun in his hand that covered his subordinates,” according to reports from Russia.
Lt. Col. Fezul Bichikaev, 36, died in Ukraine on May 2, 2022, becoming the 39th Russian colonel to die in Ukraine
“Thanks to the officer’s self-sacrifice and heroism, it was possible to save the soldiers’ lives, destroy the enemy’s sabotage group and complete the combat mission,” military expert Oleg Marzoev told a local news website in Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia.
The actual number of dead Russian senior officers may be higher, as the Ministry of Defense has admitted few deaths.
The US said it helped Ukraine with intelligence used to target Putin’s top executives.
Bichikaev was one of Russia’s youngest colonels, second in command of his regiment, and his death was a “grave, irreparable loss,” the report said.
Bichikaev’s death came a day after the death of Lieutenant Colonel Fyodor Solovyov, 44, was announced in Donbass.
Solovyov was the commander of the self-propelled howitzer artillery regiment of the 127th motorized rifle division in Putin’s army.
Putin (right) confers with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (left) as he exits the parade
He was buried with full military honors and a triple volley of rifles in the village of Chunaki in the Penza region.
Four days earlier, Lieutenant Colonel Eduard Dmitriev, 44, a tank commander, was said to have been killed.
According to well-known statistics, nine generals and 40 colonels have been killed in Putin’s war since February 24, although Russia has not clarified the total number of fatalities.
Despite setbacks, Putin continued his annual Victory Parade on May 9 in Moscow to commemorate the end of World War II.
In an unusually subdued speech, Putin reiterated his claim that Ukraine was riddled with Nazis.
The much-anticipated air parade was reportedly canceled due to inclement weather.
Lt. Col. Eduard Dmitriev, 44, (left) died April 24, 2022 during Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” in Ukraine. Lieutenant Colonel Fyodor Solovyov (right) died in Donbass, he was buried in the Penza region. He was the 38th Russian colonel to die in Ukraine since February 24
Solovyov was buried with full military honors. He was commander of the Howitzer Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment of the 127 Motorized Rifle Division
Russia’s fallen generals
General Magomed Tushaev: leader of the Chechen special forces who led “purges against homosexuals”, was killed in an ambush near Hostomel on February 26
Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky: Deputy Commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army of the Central Military District was killed by a sniper in a special operation on March 4
General Magomed Tushaev (right) was blown up by Ukraine in the early stages of the war after she joined the Russian invasion
Major General Vitaly Gerasimov: First Deputy Commander of Russia’s 41st Army, taking part in operations in Syria and Crimea, killed March 8 in battles around Kharkiv
Major General Andrei Kolesnikov: Commander of the Combined Army’s 29th Army, killed 11 March
Major General Vitaly Gerasimov (left) was the first deputy commander of the Russian 41st Army and took part in operations in Syria and Crimea. He was killed in battles around Kharkiv on March 8
Major General Oleg Mityaev died in combat near the city of Mariupol on March 16
Lieutenant General Andrey Mordvichev, killed in the Kherson region on March 19
Lieutenant-General Yakov Rezantsev, commander of Russia’s 49th Combined Army, was killed in a strike near the southern city of Kherson on March 25
Major General Vladimir Frolov was deputy commander of the 8th Guards Army in eastern Ukraine. His grave in St. Petersburg was pictured two weeks ago
Major General Andrey Simonov, an electronic warfare expert, died on May 1
Lieutenant General Yakov Rezantsev, commander of the 49th Combined Army of Russia. He was killed on March 25 during a strike near the southern city of Kherson
The grave of Major General Vladimir Frolov at the Serafimovskoe Cemetery in St. Petersburg. The circumstances of his death are still unclear
Major General Andrey Simonov was an electronic warfare commander in Putin’s army