Putin suffers ANOTHER huge loss when two of Russia’s top commanders are killed by Ukraine in Bakhmut

Two of Russia’s top commanders were killed today in bitter fighting in eastern Ukraine.

The Russian defense ministry said commander Vyacheslav Makarov of the 4th motorized rifle brigade and deputy commander Yevgeny Brovko of a separate unit were killed as they tried to repel Ukrainian attacks.

The battle for Bakhmut has been raging for a year, with Ukrainian and Russian troops even fighting hand-to-hand with bayonets.

It said Makarov had led troops from the frontline while Brovko “died heroically, sustaining multiple shrapnel wounds.”

The Ministry of Defense rarely announces the deaths of military commanders in its daily briefings, as a series of senior officers were killed in the early months of the conflict.

Russian Defense Ministry deputy commander Yevgeny Brovko (pictured) of a separate unit was killed while trying to repel Ukrainian attacks

It came as a huge fireball and mushroom cloud that erupted over a Ukrainian town after an ammunition silo attack.

Russia reportedly sent 21 drones as part of the offensive and while 17 were shot down, four found their targets in the western city of Khmelnytskyi.

Vladimir Putin appears to be targeting Ukraine’s missile storage facilities as he braces for a counter-offensive in Kiev.

After the blast in Khmelnytsky, officials said miraculously, of the “nearly 30” wounded, only two needed to go to hospital.

Educational and medical institutions, administrative buildings, industrial facilities, high-rises and private residences were damaged in the attack.

A Russian pro-war source said: “We are trying to destroy the weapons and ammunition that Ukraine has stockpiled in NATO countries.

“This is a major attack, but we need more because we know that Ukraine now has superior military firepower in many areas.”

A huge fireball and mushroom cloud erupted over the western city of Khmelnytskyi after an attack on the munitions silo

Vladimir Putin appears to target ammunition caches in western Ukraine as Kiev counter-offensive approaches

Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said: ‘Unfortunately not all drones were destroyed that night – 17 out of 21 UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles]. There were four hits in the Khmelnytskyi region.’

Local residents reported that windows and roofs had been blown off houses.

There has been speculation that Ukraine could try to seize territories within Russia itself and use them as bargaining chips in potential peace talks to end the war.

But Volodymyr Zelensky said his country is preparing a counter-offensive designed simply to liberate Russian-held territories, not attack Russian territory.

It came after Putin launched an attack on warehouses in the city of Ternopil on Saturday, minutes before electronic music duo Tvorchi – who hail from that area – performed at the Eurovision Song Contest.

Two people were injured in the attacks, officials confirmed. Tvorchi held up a sign bearing the name of their hometown during their performance in Liverpool.