An RAF General has highlighted one sign that something is "going badly wrong" with Vladimir Putin ’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russia has already lost three major generals in less than three weeks of fighting, since the invasion began on February 24.
Former RAF Commander Edward Stringer said the presence of these figures so close to the frontline, and their deaths, does not bode well for Russia.
On Friday, it was reported that the commander of the Eastern Military District, Andrei Kolesnikov, had died.
This came within days of his colleagues Vitaly Gerasimov of the 41st Army and Andrei Sukhovetsky of the Russian Airborne Forces also being killed in combat.
The former RAF commander told Sky News: "Critical reports that three Major Generals – Major Generals don't normally get that close to the front.
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"If they do, something is going very badly wrong. It shows Russia is stretched to its elastic limit in Ukraine.
"And to try and salvage something from this, the generals are at the front whipping the troops for one last effort.
"If you've lost three generals, and you're claiming you've only lost about 500 troops, something doesn't add up and it suggests things are not going well militarily."
Whilst reports vary, Moscow has only killed around 500 Ukrainian soldiers so far - but lost more than 10,000 of its own troops.
This means Russia is losing more troops every day - at least 588 a day.
Western intelligence reported that Russia was taken back by the fierceness of Ukraine’s resistance which has seen it lose more tanks than Germany has across its total army.
The cities of Kherson, in eastern Ukraine, and Melitopol, in the south, are the only large centres to have been officially taken by the Russians.
Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Mariupol have been subjected to heavy, relentless shelling, forcing countless to flee, but they have not fallen yet.
Russians are thought to have around 20 major generals in theatre in Ukraine.
Western officials believe having such high-ranking officers so far forward to the front in the early stages of the invasion is significant.
There have been widespread reports of morale among Russian troops is low after two weeks of the war, with footage emerging of allegedly captured soldiers claiming they were not aware they would be deployed to fight.
General Andrei Kolesnikov, of the 29th Combined Arms Army, was killed in fighting yesterday.
His death followed the killings of Major General Vitaly Gerasimov, chief of staff of the 41st Army, who died outside Kharkiv alongside senior officers, and Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky.
Sukhovetsky was the first general to die and was reportedly killed by a sniper.
Putin confirmed his death in a speech eight days into the invasion.
Christo Grozev, executive director of investigative journalism outlet Bellingcat, said that confirmation of his death would be a “major demotivator” for Russian troops.
Sukhovetsky had reportedly been decorated for his role in annexing Crimea and Russian paper Pravda and graduated from Airborne Command School in 1995.
The second general to die was Major General Vitaly Gerasimov, who also died this week.
Ukraine's defence ministry said that Gerasimov was killed outside the eastern city of Kharkiv, along with other senior officers.
The ministry also broadcasted what it said was a conversation between two Russian FSB officers discussing the general's death and complaining that their secure communications were no longer functioning inside Ukraine.
