“A very dangerous enemy”: who are Colonels Makarov and Brovko who died in battle in Ukraine?

At press briefings by the Russian Defense Ministry, propaganda glorifying the operation in Ukraine often leaves room for cold and detailed descriptions of the fighting. This Sunday, however, ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov confirmed the deaths of two Russian army commanders.

Colonels Vyacheslav Makarov and Yevgeny Brovko died in action amid two Ukrainian offensives in the Donetsk Republic region, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement this Sunday. The first of them was the commander of the fourth motorized rifle brigade. “He was a very dangerous opponent,” Yuri Butusov reacted, Ukrainian military reporter in his Telegram channel.

According to him, his brigade, which is considered the most reactive on the ground, has taken up positions in Bakhmut since May 9 in order to better control the situation. The correspondent considers the death of Commander Makarov a “great achievement” for the Ukrainian troops on the ground. Very cautious about this strategic information, Russia does not release more information about the colonel’s missions.

Death as a “hero” in Moscow

Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov simply points out that Vyacheslav Makarov “personally” led the Russian defense at the front line, in the area of ​​the village of Krasnoye, “southwest of Artemovsk” (the Russian name for Bakhmut). “Two enemy attacks were repulsed, the brigade’s fighters destroyed three tanks, four infantry fighting vehicles and two armored personnel carriers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” Moscow recalled.

It was during the third Ukrainian offensive that the brigade commander was “severely wounded” before dying while “evacuating from the battlefield.” According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukraine would have lost about 200 servicemen in this operation. The information is not confirmed by Kyiv.

Thus, the Kremlin also confirmed the death of Colonel Yevgeny Brovko, also wounded in the battles near Bakhmut. Lower in the hierarchy than Vyacheslav Makarov, he was the deputy commander of the army corps for military-political tasks. According to the Ministry of Defense, Yevgeny Brovko also led the “defense” of his brigade in the Bakhmut area. Wounded by a “shrapnel”, the colonel did not survive and died a “hero” according to Moscow.