A ninth Russian colonel has reportedly been killed as Putin's forces suffer 'significant losses' with as many as 19,000 soldiers said to have died.
Devastation has been found in cities near the capital of Kyiv where civilians are said to have been killed in their hundreds with claims of the use of torture.
Russian troops have been moving back this week exposing apparent atrocities while seeming to reorganise its attack on the east of Ukraine.
Amid the horrific loss of life, the heavy number of deaths by the invading Russian forces has also been exposed with claims that it could be as high as 19,000 killed.
Many Russian soldiers’ bodies have been left where they have fallen with no attempt to repatriate them home.
Now, another high ranking Russian military officer has reported been killed with Colonel Alexander Bespalov's body taken back to his home.
The tank commander is believed to be the ninth colonel to die in the invasion and led the 59th Tank Guards Regiment reported the 74.RU website.
His death comes after Ukraine said it had killed Colonel Denis Kurilo, who was commander of the 200th motorised rifle brigade, in fighting near Kharkiv.
Russia sent tens of thousands of soldiers into Ukraine on February 24 on what it calls a "special operation" and now Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has admitted they have lost many soldiers.
"We have significant losses of troops," he told Sky News. "It's a huge tragedy for us."
Families in Russia have been mourning the loss of life which conflicts with the state media's claims that the invasion has been a success.
In the southern garrison town of Vladikavkaz, near the Caucasus mountains, relatives gathered for the funeral of Vitaly Dyadyushko, one of two soldiers buried on Friday in the town's Vostochnoe cemetery.
One weeping woman dressed in black kissed the face of the soldier, who lay in an open casket, flanked by soldiers in dress uniform holding rifles. A Russian Orthodox priest waved incense over the coffin.
Dyadyushko, from the nearby settlement of Arkhonskaya, left behind four sisters and a mother, said local leader Alexander Kusey.
"He was from a large family, and he was the only one who provided for it. I don't know how the girls will do without him now, he helped a lot," he said. "He was not married, he did not have a chance, he was young, very young. It's a shame when the young pass away before their time."
As the coffin was lowered into the ground, a military brass band played the national anthem and an honour guard fired a salute using automatic weapons.
Shortly afterwards, mourners gathered for another funeral, that of 41-year-old Ruslan Kozayev. One elderly woman, in tears, gently touched his face.
Elsewhere in the cemetery, more than 20 fresh graves for soldiers who died in Ukraine were visible.
