Russian President Vladimir Putin has been hit with another setback in his invasion of Ukraine.
Reports from the Ministry of Defence in Kyiv have claimed that the commander of the "13th tank regiment" of the "4th tank division of the Russian Federation" shot himself.
The commander is believed to have taken the action after discovering that 90 per cent of Russian tanks had spoiled reserve tanks.
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The tanks were rendered useless after they were pillaged for cash.
The Ministry claimed that the commander killed himself as only one in 10 of the tanks were operational.
Some reports have suggested that Russian soldiers have turned against one another as their supplies run short, and they have been engaging in financial corruption.
The Daily Star reported that parts of machinery had been stolen, including the engines of the tanks.
Businessman Bill Browder who had the largest foreign investment portfolio in Russia, told The Wall Street corruption has devastated the Russian army.
He said: "My estimate is that 80 per cent of the military budget is stolen by Russia's generals, because 80 per cent of all budgets in Russia are stolen by the officials in charge."
It has been claimed that the wages of Russian troops have been taken by their superiors, leaving those in lower ranks to sell fuel from their tanks and other materials on the black market.
Military equipment can be highly valuable as some gear contains gold and precious metals, which have now reportedly been stripped and sold.
The report from Ukraine's Ministry of Defence claimed that Russia is "trying to put into operation a significant amount of equipment coming from long-term storage facilities".
It added: "The condition of this equipment is mostly extremely unsatisfactory, which makes its full use impossible."
The looting of Russian assets has meant troops have had to alter their plans.
Mr Browder said the level of corruption at lower levels was caused by the corruption at the highest levels.
He said Putin has "north of $200 billion" squirrelled away in private bank accounts, usually in the name of his wealthy associates.
Russian forces are thought to have suffered losses due to malfunctioning military equipment, which has been poorly maintained throughout the conflict.
If the report is verified, the commander's death will add to the growing list of high-ranking Russian officers who have been killed in the conflict in Ukraine.
So far, officials from the West have declared the deaths of seven Russian generals.
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