A fourth Russian general has been killed in the fighting in Ukraine, president Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed.

The Ukrainian president did not name the general but Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko said it was Major General Oleg Mityaev that was killed.

Gen Mityaev, commander of Russia’s 150th motorised rifle division, was allegedly killed by the Ukrainian National Guard during an attempt to storm Mariupol, according to Mr Gerashchenko.

Russia’s military losses appear to be mounting, with some experts saying that Ukraine is likely targeting top-level Russian officers.

The true number of casualties among troops is disputed however, with Moscow saying 498 of its fighters were killed in the first week of the war while Ukraine said it was 6,000 for the same period.

The New York Times on Thursday said the conservative estimate from US intelligence was 7,000 deaths – more than American military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan combined.

Three Russian generals were reportedly killed prior to Gen Mityaev. Only the first – Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky – was confirmed by Russia.

Major Generals Vitaly Gerasimov and Andrei Kolesnikov were reported dead by Ukraine officials in separate incidents last week.

There has been no confirmation from Russia of the latest death. Gen Mityaev was said to be leading 150th motorised rifle division in an assault on Mariupol.

The unit, formerly deployed in Russia’s Rostov region on the border with Ukraine at Donbas, is key to the Russian offensive in southeast Ukraine, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

Gen Mityaev’s death would be a heavy blow to the unit’s operation at a time when Russian forces have already been struggling to advance on the strategically significant city of Mariupol.

Mr Gerashschenko claimed that Ukrainian troops were causing “enormous damage” to Russian forces at Mariupol. The port city has no running water or electricity and food is in desperately short supply.

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