According to Newsweek, Russian troops stationed in the Crimea beat their commander to death before fleeing the scene. This was reported by Ukrainian intelligence.

The soldiers were from the 20th Motorized Rifle Division, which is part of the eighth Army of Russia's southern military district. On the first of November 23 they inflicted severe bodily injuries on Colonel Musurbekov, Ukraine's intelligence service said, this was according to a translation, but didn’t give the commander's first name. The troops suspected of carrying out the attack changed out of their uniforms into civilian clothes and then left their base in the Simferopol district, fleeing to the neighbouring Russian region of Krasnodar.

Ukraine's General Staff has said that there are increasing numbers of Russian troops deserting the war in Ukraine. There have been numerous reports since the start of Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of low morale, poor equipment and training, as well as problems with command.

In August this year, a group of Russian soldiers in Ukraine's occupied Kherson oblast released a video appeal to the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia, in which they describe their morale as being "below floor level."

In the latest case, Ukrainian intelligence said that, Colonel Musurbekov died from his injuries in a hospital in Simferopol six days after the incident. As yet Newsweek has not as been able to verify the claims of Ukrainian intelligence.