Putin loses his 50th colonel of Ukraine invasion as Russian death toll 'passes 31,000' 

Russia has lost its 50th colonel of the war in Ukraine in the latest hammer blow to the Kremlin, with the death toll now thought to have climbed past 31,000.

Artillery commander Lt Col Vladimir Nigmatullin, a 46-year-old father-of-three from Yekaterinburg, was killed on May 31, it has now been revealed.

Nigmatullin’s death has been confirmed to his family, adding to the huge list of casualties of Russia’s military leaders, with one colonel killed every two days. 

It comes after Vladimir