Major General Andrei Simonov died after his command post came under artillery fire by Ukrainian forces on Saturday April 30. The bombardment also took out more than 30 Russian armoured vehicles, including tanks. Videos circulating on social media appeared to show the command post being hit by Grad rockets, fired from a multiple-launch rocket system.

Presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said in an interview that some 100 Russian servicemen were also killed in the rocket attack.

The rate at which the Kremlin is losing senior commanders appears to be setting new records in modern military history.

Foreign correspondent Ian Birrell noted in a tweet: “Russia is losing one general a week on average in Putin’s disastrous war, which must be an almost unprecedented rate of attrition for such senior officers.”

The high casualty rate among among senior officers is also indicative of low morale among the rank and file, an ex-Estonian general told Express.co.uk.

Riho Terras said the senior commanders had to go to the frontlines to try and motivate their troops.

He said: “But the spirit in the Russian troops is still disastrous.

“Why is it that so many high ranking commanders, generals have been killed?

“Because they need to go to the troops in the front and try and encourage the troops to fight and get killed themselves.

“It only shows me that the spirit is not there.”

Russian forces are trying to push south from Izyum towards Slovyansk, in a pincer movement designed to encircle Ukrainian troops defending the Donbas.

The strategic importance of the Izyum axis for Moscow was shown with the recent announcement that Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov would take personal command of the offensive there.

Ukrainian intelligence officials told the news outlet Defence Express that Gerasimov was already in-theatre and would command the offensive “at the operational and tactical level”.

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Reports suggest the Kremlin is strengthening its Izyum front with additional troop deployments.

Analysts for the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) noted that units from the Eastern Military District along with air-defence assets were being sent from the Russian town of Belgorod to the Izyum front.

The new units would supplement Russian forces attempting to advance south of the Ukrainian city.

However, the researchers predicted this would not lead to any major breakthroughs for the Russian forces, who are having to contend with Ukrainian counterattacks around Kharkiv.

In their latest bulletin, ISW experts wrote: “These forces are unlikely to enable Russian forces to break the current deadlock, as Russian attacks remain confined to two major highways (toward Slovyansk and Barvinkove) and cannot leverage greater numbers.

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“Several successful Ukrainian counterattacks out of Kharkiv city in the last 72 hours have additionally recaptured a ring of suburbs north and east of the city and may additionally force Russian forces to redeploy units intended for the Izyum axis to hold these positions.”

They added: “Russian forces appear increasingly unlikely to achieve any major advances in eastern Ukraine, and Ukrainian forces may be able to conduct wider counterattacks in the coming days.”

Two Russian generals were reportedly killed in the last week of April in the occupied part of Kherson region.

A command post was also reportedly struck there.