CRIPPLING BLOW
Putin loses his 49th colonel blown up in airstrike as Russian commander brands tyrant a ‘motherf***er’ in leaked call
VLADIMIR Putin has lost his 49th colonel in his calamitous invasion - with a fuming Russian commander branding the tyrant a "motherf***er" in a heated leaked call.
Lieutenant colonel Zaur Dimayev is understood to have been blown up in an airstrike as Russia continues to count its losses - with more than 30,000 soldiers killed since the war broke out.
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Dimayev - a close ally of Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov - was deputy commander of the 4th battalion of the Akhmat Kadyrov special forces regiment.
He died in a hail of artillery fire from the Ukrainians, reported Baza media outlet.
Reports said he was killed in the village of Komyshuvakha, in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, while in an UAZ Patriot SUV vehicle that came under fire.
His driver was also killed on the spot.
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Dimayev’s commanding officer colonel Zamid Chalaev, 40, this week told how he “enjoys” killing Ukrainians.
In a video reposted by Kadyrov - lead of Chechnya - the commander standing amidst a group of fighters said: “We want to say to all [Ukrainian] shaitans, Nazis, Banderovtsy - when we are killing you, we enjoy it.”
Dimayev - previously pictured with Kadyrov, a war hardliner who is one of Putin’s closest allies - is the 49th colonel or lieutenant colonel known to have died in Ukraine, with the number of generals killed now believed to be ten.
Just this week it was reported that two more Russian colonels had been killed — including the country’s “best paratroop commander”.
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It comes as Putin's henchmen grow more and more frustrated as the invasion continues to stall, with two Russian military top brass heard insulting the tyrant in a secretly recording.
Putin had been hoping for a swift victory in Ukraine - but the faltering invasion has seen thousands of Russian soldiers killed and huge amounts of hardware destroyed by hero defenders.
Two of his two military officials hit out at the leader over the failure to capture Kyiv in a call reportedly bugged by Ukrainian intelligence services.
Colonel Vitaly Kovtun could be heard telling Colonel Maksin Vlasov: "A f***ing rocket should fly into (Ukraine’s Parliament) in Kyiv.
"That’s it f*** it. Why didn’t (a rocket) f***ing fly? I don’t f***ing get it, you’re f***ed, Putin motherf*****.
"Why didn’t a rocket fly into Kyiv Something hasn’t been done the right way."
The pair could also reportedly be heard blasting Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu as Vlasov branded him "incompetent".
They also allegedly agreed that the war is being led by "bootlickers" and that their army had made "horrible losses".
The alleged call is believed to have taken place on April 14 and was broadcast by Radio Free Europe's Ukrainian service.
It comes as Russian forces stepped up their attack on the battered city of Severodonetsk by striking a chemical plant which sent a huge cloud of smoke into the air.
Footage taken by a Ukrainian defender shows a spewing cloud of nitric acid as Russian forces pushed to take the strategic city Severodonetsk in a bid to turn the tide of the war.
The Ukrainian authorities have warned people to stay inside due to the risk posed by toxic fumes after the blast.
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Nitric acid, which is yellow or red, is corrosive and can cause severe burns, ulcerations, and scarring when in contact with skin.
Its vapour can also cause pulmonary edema when inhaled - which can be fatal.
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