Putin loses legendary Russian sniper and 43rd colonel after battalion obliterated in botched river crossing

VLADIMIR Putin has lost his 43rd Colonel after a failed attempt by Russian troops to cross a river in Ukraine as well as a legendary sniper. Colonel Denis Kozlov, 40, was among Russian troops obliterated attempting to cross the Donets River after being ambushed by Ukrainian forces last week. Colonel Denis Kozlov was killed attempting to cross the Donets RiverEast2West Russian tanks destroyed in the disastrous river crossingRex Separately the death was announced of one of Vladimir Putin’s  top military snipers, Sergeant Sergei Tsarkov. Kozlov had only been in his position for two months having just replaced his predecessor, Colonel Serhiy Porohnya, after he was killed in March. In the attack on the Donets River last week, two battalions were wiped out by the Ukrainians after a failed mission to rescue stranded comrades and kit on the other side of the river. Russian soldiers and their vehicles had been left trapped in their attempt to cross the waterway after the bridge was blown apart my Ukrainian military. READ MORE ON UKRAINE WAR CRIMINAL Baby-faced Russian who shot civilian dead pleads GUILTY in 1st war crime trial 'RESURRECTED' I was shot & thrown into grave alive by Russians but ESCAPED by playing dead After the attack, satellite pictures showed a Russian Z tank “graveyard” with 52 vehicles destroyed and an estimated 1,000 troops lost. The second and third attempts also reportedly ended in failure with satellite images showing a demolished pontoon bridge and half a dozen more military vehicles Across the four day campaign to cross the river, Ukrainian Instigative site, InformNapalm, reported that Putin lost more than 70 tanks and armoured cars. Most read in News TAKE VLAD Evil Putin unleashes 'TERMINATOR' tanks after battering by Brit missiles 'SICK' DESPOT Moment 'cancer-stricken' Putin retches and splutters amid ‘chemo’ rumours DEATH PLUNGE Chinese airliner 'DELIBERATELY crashed by pilot or intruder in 350mph dive' PARK ATTACK Girl, 17, has face savaged by dog in park as she tried to help owner HOLIDAY HORROR Two Brits killed in motorbike crash in Vietnam LOOK OF YOU I'm having 'Ed Sheeran's' baby… but star's wife doesn't need to worry, says fan The humiliating loss of a yet another Colonel comes after an embarrassing couple of weeks for Putin in the war in Ukraine. His troops were forced to retreat from both the capital, Kyiv, and the second biggest city of Kharkiv, in the east of Ukraine. The 38-year-old Tsarkov was commander of a division of the rifle company of snipers, part of the 1st rifle platoon in TransBaikal region, Siberia. “Sergey Tsarkov served in a sniper rifle company,” said a military source.  “He was the best sniper of the brigade Everyone respected him very much, he was a professional, well-respected.  “No-one could believe that such a thing could happen to him.” He was a regular winner of international sniper contests at military games held between ex-Soviet countries.  Read More on The Sun ROYAL RIDE Major royal spotted catching the Tube - even chatting with fellow commuters FUN HOUSE You can hire this UK party house - with its own nightclub & games arcade Tsarkov was buried among other war dead in a vast Ukraine war cemetery at  Borzya, his hometown, some 4,400 miles east of the warzone in Ukraine.  Rumours also continue to swell over the Russian President’s own health after it was claimed he’s suffering from Parkinson’s and that he’s due to undergo treatment blood cancer. Russian forces found themselves trapped and were then destroyedRex