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Photo: Reuters / Scanpix
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, at least 19 Russian generals have been killed, according to open-source data and reports from Russian and Ukrainian sources.
Not all of the deaths were officially confirmed by Moscow.
Losses among senior commanders occurred both on the front lines and far from the battlefield. In the early months of the war, several generals were killed by sniper fire or artillery strikes. Since then, others have died as a result of strikes on headquarters, acts of sabotage and explosions inside Russia, and incidents involving aviation. In 2022, the deaths of Generals Andrei Sukhovetsky, Oleg Mityaev, Vladimir Frolov, Andrei Simonov, Kanamat Botashev, and Roman Kutuzov were recorded. In subsequent years, the list grew to include notable names such as Sergei Goryachev, Oleg Tsokov, and Vladimir Zavadsky.
In 2024 and 2025, those killed included Igor Kirillov, head of Russia’s radiation, chemical and biological protection troops; Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy head of the General Staff’s Main Operations Directorate; Mikhail Gudkov, deputy commander in chief of the Russian Navy; and Fanil Sarvarov, head of the General Staff’s operational training directorate, who was killed in a car bombing in Moscow.
Some of those killed were retired at the time of their deaths or were serving in volunteer or assault units such as the Wagner Group and “Storm Z.”
Full list in chronological order
Andrei Sukhovetsky — Major General
Sukhovetsky served as deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army. He was killed on Feb. 28, 2022, in the Chernihiv region. According to available data, he was shot by a sniper. He became the first general whose death was confirmed by the Russian side.
Oleg Mityaev — Major General
Mityaev commanded the 150th Motor Rifle Division. He is believed to have been killed during the battle for Mariupol in the spring of 2022. Ukraine’s Azov Battalion claimed responsibility for his death, and that information was partially confirmed by pro-war sources in Russia.
Vladimir Frolov — Major General
Frolov was deputy commander of the 8th Combined Arms Army. He was killed on March 10, 2022, in Mariupol, officially reported as the result of sniper fire.
Andrei Simonov — Major General
Simonov led electronic warfare troops of the Western Military District. He is believed to have been killed on April 30, 2022, following an artillery strike on a command post near Izium in Ukraine’s Kharkiv Region.
Kanamat Botashev — Major General (retired)
After leaving active service, Botashev took part in combat as part of the Wagner private military company. His Su-25 aircraft was shot down by Ukrainian forces on May 22, 2022; his death was acknowledged by Russian authorities.
Roman Kutuzov — Lieutenant General
Kutuzov served as chief of staff and first deputy commander of the 8th Combined Arms Army. He was killed on June 5, 2022, near Popasna in Ukraine’s Luhansk region. His death was officially confirmed.
Dmitry Ulyanov — Major General (retired)
Ulyanov commanded a regiment formed from mobilized troops in Russia’s Tatarstan region. He was killed on Feb. 6, 2023.
Sergei Goryachev — Major General
Goryachev served as chief of staff of the 35th Combined Arms Army. He was killed on June 12, 2023, after a strike on the army’s headquarters in Primorsk during Ukraine’s counteroffensive.
Oleg Tsokov — Lieutenant General
Tsokov was deputy commander of Russia’s Southern Military District. He was killed on July 11, 2023, in a strike on a backup command post of the 58th Army in Berdiansk.
Vladimir Zavadsky — Major General
Zavadsky served as deputy commander of the 14th Army Corps. He was killed on Nov. 28, 2023, near the village of Krynky in Ukraine’s Kherson region — either by a mine explosion or by shelling, according to different accounts.
Igor Trifonov — Police Major General (rank stripped)
A former head of the Yekaterinburg police department previously convicted of bribery, Trifonov was killed in combat on Dec. 12, 2023, according to Russian sources.
Andrei Golovatsky — Major General (retired)
Golovatsky previously served as first deputy chief of staff of the North Caucasus regional command of Russia’s Interior Ministry troops. He was killed on June 30, 2024.
Ildar Saidov — Major General of the Customs Service
After mobilization, Saidov was assigned to the “Storm Z” assault unit. He was killed on Sept. 14, 2024.
Pavel Klimenko — Major General
Klimenko commanded the 5th Guards Brigade. He was killed on Nov. 6, 2024; his death was officially confirmed.
Igor Kirillov — Lieutenant General
Kirillov headed Russia’s Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defense Troops. He was killed on Dec. 17, 2024, in an explosion on Ryazansky Prospekt in Moscow caused by a bomb planted in an electric scooter; his driver was also killed.
Konstantin Smeshko — Major General
Smeshko died on Dec. 26, 2024, on Russian territory. The circumstances of his death were not officially disclosed; reports mentioned possible air or HIMARS strikes.
Yaroslav Moskalik — Lieutenant General
Moskalik served as deputy head of the Main Operations Directorate of Russia’s General Staff. He was killed on April 25, 2025, in a car bombing in the city of Balashikha just outside Moscow.
Mikhail Gudkov — Guards Major General
Gudkov served as deputy commander in chief of the Russian Navy. According to Ukrainian media, he was killed in a missile strike on July 2, 2025; Russia said he died “while carrying out a combat mission” in the Kursk Region.
Fanil Sarvarov — Lieutenant General
Sarvarov headed the Operational Training Directorate of Russia’s General Staff. He was killed on Dec. 22, 2025, when a booby-trapped car exploded in Moscow. His death was officially confirmed.
In addition, in 2022 there were reports of the death of Major General Andrei Kolesnikov. However, in 2023 propagandist Vladimir Solovyov published what he said was a recent report from Syria showing Kolesnikov alive and serving as deputy commander of Russia’s military grouping there.