In a brutal blow to President Vladimir Putin, certainly one of Russia's distinguished paratrooper commanders, Vasily Popov, 38, has been killed whereas trying to halt Ukraine's counteroffensive, experiences declare.

Popov, together with three different officers, is believed to have died within the latest wave of Russian casualties.

Ukrainian forces have been conducting efficient and restricted counterattacks within the neighborhood of Kyiv to disrupt the Russian navy's plans to seize the town and alleviate among the stress on the capital.

These efforts have confirmed profitable to date, making it more and more unlikely that Russia will take management of the town.

Before his reported demise, Popov had solely lately taken cost of the elite 247th Airborne Assault Regiment, main it for just some weeks.

While the exact circumstances surrounding his demise haven't been disclosed, it's suspected that he misplaced his life close to the Donetsk-Zaporizhzhia regional border, as advised by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

This regiment had previously suffered substantial losses during the Ukrainian war, sparking controversy over the failure of Popov's predecessor to repatriate the our bodies of the fallen troopers.

Another former commander of the regiment, Konstantin Zizevsky, met his finish within the preliminary days of the battle and was subsequently posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Russia.

The regiment, sometimes called the "suicide squad," skilled important casualties throughout Vladimir Putin's ill-fated fast invasion of Ukraine on the onset of the conflict.

ISW highlighted Russia's technique of deploying elite troops for counterattacks in Ukraine could outcome within the decimation of Russian forces.

The news of Popov's demise has elicited emotional reactions from pro-war commentators.

Yegor Guzenko, writer of Telegram community Z-channel Thirteenth, mentioned: “The new commander of the 247th regiment died.

"He only recently took up his command.

“A good man, damn, really, damn, a hero, damn, just a hero.

“I have no other words, and I feel sorry for him. Three other men died with him, and I feel sorry for them.”

Russia has experienced a number of notable casualties in the ongoing bloody war.

In March 2022, Vitaly Gerasimov was assassinated, just days following the death of Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky, who was killed by a Ukrainian sniper during the battle for Hostomel Airfield, located around 30 miles from Kyiv.

Another loss in the same year was Major General Andrei Simonov, who was struck by a rocket strike targeting his troops during combat.

Popov's death comes after Ukraine dealt one other important blow to Putin this week after attacking a Russian fleet with a 10-missile and unmanned boats strike.

Kyiv's defense forces confirmed they carried out an overnight airstrike on Russian boats docked in the Crimean port of Sevastopol, damaging a landing ship and a submarine as well as a repair facility.

Russia claimed its troops intercepted seven of the ten missiles launched on the port however conceded in a Telegram put up they'd suffered damages within the assault.