A Russian commander who was attacked by his own troops has died, Western officials said.
Russian Col. Yuri Medvedev was deliberately ran over with a tank by his own troops after his 37th Motor Rifle Brigade suffered huge losses, according to the Washington Post. The incident reportedly damaged both of Medvedev’s legs causing him to be hospitalized.
The incident reportedly took place just outside Kyiv in a town called Makariv, which the Ukrainians took back this week after Russia gained control of it earlier in the war.
Ukrainian journalist Roman Tsymbaliuk said in a Facebook post that Colonel Medvedev had lost nearly half of his tank battalion of 1,500 troops.
“A soldier, choosing a convenient moment during the battle, ran over his brigade commander, Colonel Yuri Medvedev, with a tank, injuring both his legs,’ Tsimbalyuk wrote. “Medvedev is in a hospital in Belarus and has already been awarded the Order of Courage.”
Medvedev was seen in video posts being taken on a stretcher for treatment to neighboring Belarus.
A senior Western official told The Post that be believes Medvedev is dead.
“The brigade commander was killed by his own troops, we believe, as a consequence of the scale of losses that have been taken by his brigade,” the official said. “We believe that he was killed by his own troops deliberately. We believe that he was run over by his own troops.”
NATO estimated that as many as 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since Vladimir Putin launched an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine a month ago.
Seven Russian generals have been killed since the invasion began including a lieutenant general commanding the 49th Combined Arms Army.
Russia is now indicating that they may be switching to more limited goals after running into fierce opposition from the Ukrainian people. On Friday, Russia’s defence ministry said the first phase of its military operation in Ukraine was mostly complete and that it would focus on completely “liberating” eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region.
