The 20 stone General Pavel, 67, has been summoned from his comfortable retirement in the Moscow suburbs and told to don his army fatigues and go to the front lines of eastern Ukraine.
The double-blow means the Kremlin has seen at least 52 colonels killed during the bloody conflict in Ukraine, that began on Vladimir Putin s orders on February 24.
Download the Brief The Issue Russia has failed to achieve most of its objectives in Ukraine because of poor military planning, significant logistical problems, low combat readiness, and other deficiencies, which undermined Russian military effectiveness. These and other challenges including Ukrainian military efforts and Western aid severely impacted Russian air, ground,