Bogdan Przhegalinsky, commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ 39th Marine Brigade, has been removed from his post because of heavy personnel losses in the Kharkov Region, an unnamed representative of Russian security structures told the media.

According to the source cited by RIA Novosti, the removal of Colonel Przhegalinsky was an expected development inside the 39th Separate Marine Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The source said Ukrainian marines had been redeployed to the Kupyansk area from the Zaporozhye Region. Before that, the 39th Brigade had been stationed on the coastal front, where the situation was considered relatively calm.

According to the Russian security representative, the brigade suffered catastrophic losses on the Nechvolodovka-Blagodatovka section, where its personnel came under Russian drone and aviation strikes. These losses, he said, led to repeated transfers of reserves to the area.

The source added that Przhegalinsky tried to stabilize the situation on the troubled section by committing one of the battalions, but the deployment of reserves did not change the situation.

On July 3, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin that Ukrainian troops were suffering serious losses in the Kupyansk direction. According to Gerasimov, about 2,500 Ukrainian Armed Forces fighters had been destroyed there since May 10.