A high-ranking Russian general was killed by a landmine in Ukraine — one that his own military may have placed: reports

• A high-ranking Russian general was killed in Ukraine, according to Russian media.
• The Kyiv Independent reports that a landmine explosion in Kharkiv Oblast killed Major General Vladimir Zavadsky.

A high-ranking Russian general was killed by a landmine in Ukraine, according to Russian media — and an investigation is considering if his own military had placed the landmine, a Russian Telegram channel said.

Major General Vladimir Zavadsky, the deputy commander of the Russian Armed Forces' 14th Army Corps, the Kyiv Independent reported, citing the Russian online newspaper Lenta.

Lenta reported that Zavadsky was killed near Izium in Kharkiv Oblast, but the Russian Telegram channel VChK-OGPU said the general died far from the frontlines.

It's unclear where Zavadsky died, and Russian state media have not confirmed his death.

Zavadsky's alma mater, the Moscow Higher Combined Arms Command School, posted on the Vkontakte social network in a now-deleted post that he died on Tuesday, Ukrainska Pravda reported.

An investigation is underway to determine the exact cause of Zavadsky's death, including if the landmine was placed by Russian forces in an attempt to target Ukrainian sabotage groups, according to Ukrainska Pravda.

"The investigation is considering the possibility of an explosion on a mine that was previously installed by a neighboring unit in order to combat the enemy's [sabotage and reconnaissance unit]," the Telegram channel VChK-OGPU wrote, according to a translation in The Daily Beast.

"An attempt is also being made to attribute General Zavadsky's death to an artillery strike by the Ukrainian Armed Forces," the channel added, according to The Daily Beast.

Zavadsky is one of the highest-ranking Russian officials to be killed so far in the war in Ukraine, the Daily Beast reported.