Vladimir Putin has been rocked by news that two of his prime commanders have been killed on Sunday (May 14) amid the battle for Ukraine's jap metropolis of Bakhmut.

The Russian Defence Ministry stated Commander Vyacheslav Makarov of the 4th Motorized Rifle Brigade and Deputy Commander Yevgeny Brovko from one other unit have been killed in fight, defending Ukraine's counter-offensive.

The bloody battle has been an ongoing scenario for a yr and has seen troops from each nations preventing with bayonets at instances.

Announcing the fatalities, the Ministry confirmed Makarov was main troops from the entrance line on the time of his demise, while Brovko died "heroically, suffering multiple shrapnel wounds".

Military command deaths have not often been introduced in each day briefings, since a number of senior officers have been killed within the early levels of the battle, which started in February 2022.

READ MORE: Zelensky says Ukraine is not attacking Russian territory in counter-offensive

Sunday additionally noticed a mushroom cloud erupt over the western Ukrainian metropolis of Khmelnytskyi amid an enormous fireball assault on an ammunition silo.

Russia reportedly despatched 21 drones as a part of the offensive, 17 of which have been downed by Ukraine, with 4 succesfully placing targets within the metropolis.

In the aftermath of the blast officers stated regardless of "nearly 30 being injured miraculously only two had needed to go to hospital".

A Russian pro-war supply informed MailOnline: "We are searching for to destroy the weapons and ammunition stockpiled by Ukraine from Nato international locations.

"This is a giant strike however we'd like extra as a result of we all know Ukraine now has superior navy firepower to us in lots of areas."

Confirming the news, Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said: "Unfortunately, not all drones have been destroyed that night time – 17 out of 21 UAVs (unmanned aerial autos). There have been 4 hits in Khmelnytskyi area."

Elsewhere it was reported by Russian separatists that UK-supplied Storm Shadow cruise missiles have been utilized by Ukraine for the primary time.

Volodymyr Zelensky’s forces used the projectiles in opposition to targets within the east of the nation, the Luhansk People's Republic claimed in a collection of posts on their Telegram channel.

Footage appeared to point out Vladimir Putin ally Viktor Vodolatsky, 65, his face bloodied, being led out of a building which was hit by one missile.

The LPR’s statement said: "According to up to date info, on May 12, 2023, throughout a missile assault on town of Luhansk the Ukrainian armed forces used two Storm Shadow cruise missiles (produced by the UK and France) and one ADM-160B MALD missile (produced by the US)."