More than 20 generals of the Russian occupying army were killed after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to the website of the Japanese media corporation Nikkei on Thursday, citing intelligence data.

British media said in June that more than ten generals had been killed. Japan estimates their total at more than 20 based on intelligence gathered in cooperation with the United States and Europe. about the weakness of the armed forces of the invaders.

Former Chief of Staff of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Kiyofumi Iwata called the number "unbelievably high", noting that in the United States, for example, there were almost no combat deaths of officers of such a high rank. "The death of a general weakens troop morale," he said.

Iwata attributed the unusually high number of generals killed to the superiority of the Ukrainian military in cyberspace, allowing Kyiv to know their whereabouts, and to Russian tactics of sending generals into combat.

A senior Japanese intelligence official, who has not been named, also raised the possibility of using informants. "There may be informants in the two eastern regions giving information to Ukraine," he said.

It is noted that the lack of internal sources was one of the main reasons why it took the United States ten years to find and kill Osama bin Laden.

"Recruitment of local informants depends on a variety of factors, including systems of government, religion and ethnicity. It should come as no surprise if the regions of Ukraine invaded by Russia have sources furnishing Kyiv with intelligence," the newspaper said.

According to the publication, the version that Ukraine was able to target Russian commanders by monitoring mobile phone signals - a communication method that Russian troops were forced to use due to problems on the electronic warfare front; after that, Russia banned the use of such devices.