ONE of Vladimir Putin’s top commanders are among the multiple dead following the first Brit-made Storm Shadow blitz in months.

The deadly strike hit “the headquarters of the 8th combined arms army of the Russian Armed Forces” in occupied Donetsk – killing Colonel Ruslan Goryachkin.

Early reports revealed there were “massive casualties among Russian officers” with bombshell footage showing the the damage to the region.

And later it emerged that among those killed was Colonel Ruslan Goryachkin, 45, acting commander of the 8th combined arms army.

An obituary for the commander said he “died heroically”.

Goryachkin’s death wasn’t immediately officially confirmed by Russia – but reports said “many more” had been killed in the latest blow to dictator Putin.

Both Russian and Ukrainian sources revealed Britain’s state-of-the-art Storm Shadow missiles were involved in the major strike and, if confirmed, it would be the first use of them in months.

Red-faced Russian authorities said only a woman had died and three people were wounded, including a teenager.

But footage in the aftermath of the strike made clear rescuers were finding many “200s” in the rubble – Russian army language for “dead”.

In one video, someone is heard asking: “Is there anyone left there, yes?”

The reply is: “200, only 200. 200, 200, 200.”

A local resident even bravely said on social media that the official toll was a “lie”.

She posted: “Three people wounded.

“But at the same time the girl from the trauma department writes that in five minutes they brought the wounded, and more, and military men brought more people, so it’s def not 3 people.

“They are lying again.”

Ukrainian channel Supernova+ said the strike was on “the headquarters of the 8th combined arms army of the Russian Armed Forces”.

The report revealed: “The building is penetrated to the basement. [The dead] are being taken out in batches.”

And journalist Ivan Yakovina said: “Clear results of the recent Nato summit – cruise missiles supplied by the UK and France today destroyed the headquarters of the 8th Combined Arms Army in Donetsk and a massive depot with an oil terminal in Luhansk.

“There were massive casualties among Russian officers at the HQ.

“They were confident that Ukraine no longer had the means to strike at such depth, so they didn’t even bother to go down to the shelter during the alert.”

He added that the result of this was “dozens killed and wounded – an entire army has been crippled”.

A building collapsed in the combined missile and drone strikes, with fire spreading to nearby shops, according to Russian reports.

Ukrainian sources said the strike was on the Donetsk Research Institute of Non-Ferrous Metals – a military target used by Russian occupiers.

Other reports say the site hit was a key place for works on UAVs and electronic warfare in the latest devastating loss for Putin.

Russian head of occupied Donetsk region Denis Pushilin said 26 missiles, drones and 155-mm artillery were unleashed by Ukraine, causing significant damage to various infrastructure.

Until today, there have been no confirmed reports of Storm Shadows being deployed since November last year.

Britain’s bunker-busting Storm Shadow rockets are a nightmare for enemies as they are capable of dodging air defences.

The £800,000 missiles – already being fired within Ukraine – use GPS to precisely hit targets, and can travel at 600mph.

France’s equivalent is known as SCALP‑EG.

In November last year, the US authorised Ukraine to use American long-range missiles called ATACMS against targets inside Russia.

In the same month, Britain gave the green light for Ukraine to fire our Storm Shadow missiles at Russia.

France has supplied its Scalp missiles to Ukraine, and reiterated in November that strikes on military targets inside Russia were an option.

Major fires were also seen in neighbouring Luhansk, also Russian occupied, with reports that an oil terminal was hit.  

This followed an unconfirmed Russian claim that the entire territory of the Luhansk region was now in Putin’s hands – a longtime aim for the mad dictator.

But there was no independent verification of the claim by puppet leader Leonid Pasechnik.

Meanwhile, Ukraine targeted Russian region Rostov, and the Crimean Bridge linking the Black Sea peninsula to Russia’s mainland was closed.

Explosions and sirens could be heard in Saratov and Engels – a key base for Russian strategic bomber aircraft.

Russia staged attacks on the Zaporizhzhia region with an enterprise and private houses hit – unleashing fiery chaos.

Ukraine also targeted the Izhevsk electromechanical plant Dome in a drone strike, which makes air defence systems and drones. 

The strikes came as Donald Trump’s special representative Keith Kellogg hit back at Putin over delays in the pace process – targeting the dictator’s mouthpiece Dmitry Peskov.

He slammed: “Peskov’s recent comments on the state of negotiations are Orwellian.

“Russian claims that it is the US and Ukraine stalling peace talks are unfounded – President Trump has been consistent and adamant about making progress to end the war.

“We urge an immediate ceasefire and a move to trilateral talks to end the war. Russia cannot continue to stall for time while it bombs civilian targets in Ukraine.”

Putin will ‘die like Hitler’

SECURITY expert David H. Carstens believes Putin has four key vulnerability and ‘will die like Hitler’.

The ex-commander told The Sun: “2025 could be the costliest year of the war for Russia in terms of casualties, look, troops are not a limitless resource. So that’s, shall we say, risk number one for Putin. 

“Number two is despite Russia’s ability to suffer, the fact that the economy is very fragile.

“If there is some sort of an economic shock, like a massive drop in fuel prices or the loss of a strategic trade partner, I think the system could destabilize.

“Risk or threat to Putin number three is that Putin depends on this very small inner circle.

“His security services, the FSB, his oligarchs, some loyalist military commanders.

“If there are continued war failures, if there is, you know, continued use of soldiers, you know, en masse, rushing Ukrainian defenses, creating these high casualty events, lack of confidence will rise, and this could fracture the inner circle.”

Carstens warned Putin could face the same fall from power as Hitler and end up dead like the Nazi dictator.

“I’ve got to reach into history for the threat to Putin number four. I just don’t think Putin has read his history when it comes to overreach,” he added.

“So Russia is incredibly overextended in Ukraine.

“And it is this exact same type of overreach that ultimately defeated Hitler in his conquest of Europe.

“So I think Putin has fallen into the same demise, is getting mired down in a conflict he cannot sustain, and that as well is part of his Achilles’ heel.”