VLADIMIR Putin’s brutal war machine was dealt another blow today as Moscow confirmed the death of another top Russian military chief.

Russian authorities have confirmed the death of Colonel Sergei Ilyin, commander of Russia’s notorious 155th Marine Brigade.

Telegram news channel Astra reported the Colonel’s death on Friday, citing a now-deleted post from officials, the Moscow Times has reported.

Ilyin had died “during the special military operation” according to a post attributed to the Urmarsky district administration.

“Special military operation” is the euphemism used by Kremlin authorities when referring to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

It follows speculation that the Colonel was among the Russian military figures killed during Ukrainian attacks in Korenevo in Russia‘s Kursk Oblast on July 2.

The 155th Separate Marine Brigade has been accused by Kyiv of committing numerous war crimes in Ukraine.

Its members have been linked to crimes during the occupation of Bucha, Irpin, and Hostome in the full-scale invasion’s early days.

While the post cited by Astra did not list a specific date of death, a photo of his apparent funeral billboard showed his birth and death dates as November 26, 1985, and July 2, 2025.

It makes Ilyin the latest of several high ranking Russian military officials to be killed since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

As many as 10 Russian generals have died – as well as 524 colonels and lieutenant colonels – according to the BBC Russia service.

Reports have also circulated that officers, including Navy Deputy Commander Mikhail Gudkov, met their ends in a Ukrainian missile strike in Russia’s Kursk region.

Ukrainian forces launched a surprise incursion into Kursk Oblast in August 2024, although Russia recaptured most of this land during Spring 2025 with the help of North Korean soldiers.

Russia’s defence ministry said Gudkov died “during combat duty” on July 2 but did not specify the precise cause of death.

Putin’s forces have suffered astronomical losses since the 2022 invasion – including many members of the Kremlin’s top military brass.

Among them is Lieutenant General Alexander Tatarenko, 63, who was among 10 military officers killed in a blast on the Belbek airbase in occupied Crimea last year.

In late November 2023, Russia also lost Major-General Vladimir Zavadsky, 45, deputy commander of the 14th Army Corps.

The number of casualties sustained by the Russian military passed the bloody one million milestone last month, according to analysts.

Dr Stephen Hall, politics lecturer at the University of Bath, told The Sun at the time:

“Putin believes he’s winning the war. The Russian army is moving forward like it or not.

“He believes that he can outlast the West, that the West is weak.”

It comes as Russia continues to horrifically barrage Ukraine with devastating drone strikes.

Donald Trump raged that he was “very unhappy” about a recent phone call with Putin and the ensuing Russian strikes.

A top Ukrainian special operations chief was killed in a suspected Russian hit this week.

Pro-Putin sources gloated that a Kremlin agent had taken out Colonel Ivan Voronich for running secret operations behind Russian lines.