Another Russian general, Lt Gen Yakov Rezantsev, was killed in a strike near the southern city of Kherson, according to Ukraine’s defence ministry.
Rezantsev commanded Russia’s 49th combined army.
According to a Western official, he was the seventh general to be killed in Ukraine, and the second lieutenant general – the highest rank officer reportedly killed.
A Russian soldier complained in a conversation intercepted by the Ukrainian military that Rezantsev had claimed the war would be over in hours, only four days after it began.
According to Ukrainian media, the general was killed at the Chornobaivka airbase near Kherson, which Russia is using as a command post and has been attacked several times by Ukraine’s military.
A Ukrainian strike on the same base reportedly killed another lieutenant general, Andrei Mordvichev.
Kherson was the first Ukrainian city to be occupied by Russian forces, though there are reports that daily protests against the Russian occupation take place there.
Despite Russia’s confirmation of only one general’s death, Kiev and western officials believe up to seven people have been killed in fighting since the war began.
However, the death of Chechen national guard Maj Gen Magomed Tushayev has been called into question.
It is unusual for such senior Russian officers to be so close to the battlefield, and Western officials believe they were forced to move closer to the front lines in order to deal with low morale among Russian troops.
The unexpectedly strong Ukrainian resistance, as well as poor Russian equipment and a high death toll among Russian troops, are all thought to be contributing factors to the low morale.
Russian forces are thought to be relying in part on open communication systems, such as mobile phones and analogue radios, which are easy to intercept and could reveal the whereabouts of high-ranking officers.
According to a source close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine has a military intelligence team dedicated to targeting Russia’s officer class.
So far, Vladimir Putin has only mentioned the death of one general, believed to be Maj Gen Andrey Sukhovetsky, in a speech shortly after the war began.
