The first female Russian soldier killed in Ukraine was buried today as Vladimir Putin faced another day of terrible war losses among his senior officers.
Corporal Anastasia Savitskaya, 35, a married mother of two who is said to be a “true hero,” is buried today in her native Volgograd, a city in southwestern Russia.
“The deceased became the first soldier to die during the special military operation,” said Alexander Strukov, the leader of the local veterans.
Savitskaya becomes one of the last Russian colonels killed in Ukraine during the Russian president’s relentless invasion of the country, in which Ukrainian forces fiercely defended their country.
While the full extent of Russia’s military losses is unknown, Putin’s forces are estimated to have suffered more than 30,000 deaths. At least 70 colonels have been killed, after at least 12 were killed in just two days.
Corporal Anastasia Savitskaya, 35, a married mother of two who is said to be a “true hero,” is buried today in her native Volgograd, a city in southwestern Russia. Pictured: Savitskaya can be seen in a photo at her funeral on Wednesday
A friend of Savitskaya said: “She dreamed of serving in the army since childhood and signed a contract at the age of 18.” Going to war in Ukraine “was her choice,” they said.
Her bereaved husband—a former soldier, unnamed—said at her funeral, “How am I going to live now? Why did I let you go there? Beloved, beautiful, dear.’
Unlike some western countries, it is rare for Russian soldiers to go to war. Ukraine, for example, has seen several female soldiers take part in the fighting.
A eulogy at the woman’s funeral said, “A female warrior has always been an exception to the rule. But Anastasia, having mastered the “home front,” without fear, went to a dangerous special operation and accomplished a double feat.”
Sturkov said: ‘I extend my condolences on the loss of the glorious daughter of Russia. Fighting and female soldiers seem incompatible, but fate has decided that.
“We are both grieving and proud.”
Her commander Major Sergey Minochkin said: “She went to collect humanitarian aid and then went to Ukraine herself. The unit leadership extends its deepest condolences to her family members. She will always be a real hero to us.’
In the photo: Russian soldiers guard Corporal Anastasia Savitskaya’s coffin at her funeral today
Pictured: A photo of Corporal Anastasia Savitskaya is shown on a screen during her funeral
Separately, today has seen the revelation of multiple casualties from other colonels, while a mass funeral was held in the Luhansk People’s Republic for 58 pro-Putin fighters.
One of the latter was Colonel Nikolai Kornelyuk, 49, an artillery commander in the 20th Guards Motor Rifle Division of Volgograd. Lieutenant Colonel Anatoly Vasin was also killed.
Another colonel previously killed but not revealed at the time was Lieutenant Colonel Denis Glebov, 37, who was buried in Ryazan, Russia. He was posthumously awarded the Order of Bravery under a decree signed by Vladimir Putin.
This is taking the toll on at least 74 colonels who died in Putin’s war.
In two days, the Russian resident has seen 12 of his colonels killed in the last battles or killed during this period.
A dozen generals have also died in the bloody conflict.
Earlier today, the death of Russian Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Sorochinsky was announced.
His funeral took place today in the village of Borodino, Moscow region.
Putin also lost Lieutenant Colonel Viktor Pakholsky, 38, deputy commander of the 39th helicopter regiment in Dzhankoy, Crimea.
It is unclear where Pakholsky – decorated for bravery in Syria – was killed.
A photo of Colonel Andrei Gorobets, whose death was announced yesterday, was reportedly killed in a Ukrainian rocket attack on Chornobaivka today.
He was chief of the operations department of the personnel of the 20th Motorized Rifle Division.
Pictured: A mass funeral of 58 soldiers from the pro-Putin Luhansk People’s Republic was held today in the village of Vidnoye, the latest demonstration of Russia’s heavy casualties in Ukraine
Pictured: Russian soldiers watch as mass funeral takes place in Russia today
Meanwhile, video showed the mass funeral being held for 58 men killed in the fighting for Luhansk, whose remains were not initially identified.
After the pro-Russians captured Luhansk, the fighters were identified and buried during the ceremony.
“We need to understand at what cost we are defending our homeland, with how much immeasurable pain we are defending our freedom,” Luhansk official Anna Soroka said, emphasizing the human cost of Vladimir Putin’s war.
It is the duty of all to remember our soldiers, those who gave their lives for our homeland.
“It is very painful for us to say goodbye to 58 of our men on their last journey…
“We know the price is much higher…
“Every day now should open a new way for us to a better future, so that the departed are not ashamed of us when they look down from heaven, our heavenly defenders.”
Colonel Nikolai Kornelyuk (pictured), 49, an artillery commander in the Volgograd 20th Guards Motor Rifle Division, is one of the last Russian colonels killed in Ukraine
Another colonel previously killed but not revealed at the time was Lieutenant Colonel Denis Glebov (pictured), 37, who was buried in Ryazan, Russia
Colonel Andrei Gorobets (circled), whose death was announced yesterday, is believed to have been killed in a Ukrainian rocket attack on Chornobaivka
The misery in Russia over war losses was highlighted by images of a funeral in Buryatia, the region with the most known fallen troops.
The weak widow of the unidentified dead soldier is too sad to walk.
Instead, she is to be carried by two soldiers behind the coffin draped in the Russian flag, which is carried by six men in uniform.
Crying relatives walk behind the coffin in the regional capital of Ulan-Ude, and a crowd of mourners watch the somber ceremony.
The killed soldier is given full military honors and there is evidence that he was a high-ranking officer.
The disturbing images were shared today by People of Baikal, a small independent online news agency that has focused on war losses among Buryat soldiers. There are now 243 known fatalities that the news agency has discovered.
Since Russia is not releasing any data on its war casualties, the figure is likely much higher.
In all, Putin’s forces are estimated to have suffered more than 30,000 deaths, with some suggestions that the toll could be more than 40,000.
Meanwhile, Russian missile strikes in Ukraine’s southern city of Mykolaiv have killed at least five people, Ukrainian authorities said, the latest in a series of artillery shelling across the country over the past day that left at least 10 dead and nearly 20 injured in the east and west. South. regions.
Ukrainian soldiers ride a tank near a front line amid the Russian attack on Ukraine, in Ukraine’s Donbas region, 13 July 2022
Although Mykolaiv has been repeatedly the target of Russian fire in recent days, Russian missiles also hit the city of Zaporizhzhya on Wednesday, an attack that could signal Moscow’s determination to hold on to territory in southern Ukraine as it aims to attack the east. to conquer completely.
Ukrainian forces have stepped up their actions to reclaim more territory in the south.
The city of Bakhmut has faced particularly heavy shelling as the current focus of the Russian offensive, Donetsk chief of government Pavlo Kyrylenko said.
In neighboring Luhansk province, which Russian and separatist forces have nearly captured, Ukrainian soldiers have been fighting to maintain control of two remote villages amid Russian shelling, Governor Serhiy Haidai said.
Luhansk and Donetsk together make up the Donbas region of Ukraine, a largely Russian-speaking region with steel mills, mines and other industries vital to the Ukrainian economy.
The Russians “willfully turn Donbas to ashes, and there will simply be no more people in the conquered areas,” Haidai said.
Russian artillery also rained down in northeastern Ukraine, where a regional governor, Oleg Syniehubov, accused Russian troops of trying to “terrorize civilians” in Kharkov, the country’s second-largest city.