A senior officer in the Russian Navy was killed in heavy fighting near the besieged city of Mariupol in Ukraine, two Russian officials confirmed on Sunday as they mourned his death.

The official, Captain of the First Rank Andrei Paliy, was with Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, and his death was described as a massive blow by Russian officials.

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Mikhail Razvozhaev, the governor of Sevastopol in Crimea where Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is based, wrote on Telegram, “Andrei Nikolaevich [Paliy] chose to defend his homeland as his life’s work and died for our peaceful future. In 1993, he refused to take the oath of allegiance to Ukraine, remained loyal to Russia by leaving for [Russia’s] Northern Fleet.”

Similarly, a Russian senator from Sevastopol, Ekaterina Altabaeva, wrote on Russian social media service VK.com that the city of Sevastopol had “suffered a heavy, irreparable loss.”

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According to Altabaeva, Paliy was a graduate of the Kyiv Higher Naval Political School, a school for political officers for the Soviet navy, and had taken part in the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia.

“I knew Andrei Nikolaevich personally. An officer with a capital O, a courageous defender of our Motherland, devoted to the oath and to the Navy. Andrei Nikolaevich loved Sevastopol with all his heart. His whole life was dedicated to the Hero City,” Alatbaeva further wrote on social media.

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Since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, thousands of Russian troops have been killed, while Russia, thus far, has not been able to capture any of Ukraine’s biggest cities, including the capital Kyiv, despite ongoing sieges.

Given Russia’s superior military might, Moscow’s inability to quickly capture strategic locations has many wondering in the corridors of power whether the invasion has been botched.