RUSSIA's military is facing "serious problems" which could result in it failing to sustain its invasion of Ukraine - a huge blow to Vladimir Putin's long-term plan, an expert has claimed. 

Russia's military has suffered yet another setback in Ukraine after state media in Moscow confirmed the death of one of its military’s top generals. Major General Roman Kutuzov was killed during fighting in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, where Russian President Vladimir Putin has focused his ire after failing to take the capital city of Kyiv. Russia's defence ministry has not commented on the reports of General Kutuzov's death. With fighting in Ukraine intensifying, many are concerned that Russian forces could make significant advances in key regions. 

But retired US Army commander General Ben Hodges, who previously led US troops in Europe, is confident the Russian military will encounter issues.While he concedes that Ukraine faces a difficult few weeks, Russia's logistical issues will help the defending forces, he says.Speaking to Times Radio last week, General Hodges said: "I'm not concerned overall because I am still convinced that Russia cannot sustain what it is doing, there are some serious problems in their logistical chain.

"They have manpower shortages, and they recently sacked Dvornikov who was supposed to be the guy who was going to fix all of their problems." 

General Aleksandr Dvornikov was brought in by Putin in April, with experts believing this was a sign that the Russian President knew his invasion was failing.