Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday appointed General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff, as commander-in-chief of the Russian armed forces stationed in Ukraine, in the latest change in Moscow’s military leadership, Reuters reports.
Shoigu appointed Gerasimov as the commander of the Joint Group of Forces to conduct Moscow’s “special military operation” in Ukraine, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
Russia thus replaced Serhiy Surovikin, dubbed “General Armageddon” by Russian media, from commanding Russian forces in Ukraine just months after he was appointed commander-in-chief last October following a series of counter-offensives by Ukrainian women that turned the tide of the conflict.
Surovikin will remain Gerasimov’s deputy, the Ministry of Defense reported.
Gerasimov’s deputies They will be the Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces Oleg Salyukov, Deputy General Staff Oleksiy Kim and the head of the Air and Space Forces Serhiy Surovikin, Ria reports.
Shoigu noted that these changes are aimed at increasing the effectiveness of the management of military operations in Ukraine more than 10 months after the start of the campaign.
“General Armageddon” is criticized for Russia’s failures in Ukraine
Gerasimov, like Shoigu, faced harsh criticism from pro-war military bloggers for Russia’s numerous battlefield failures and failure to secure victory in a campaign the Kremlin expected to win in short order.
Surovikin, nicknamed “General Armageddon” by the Russian press for his brutality, was the one who proposed on November 9 to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to withdraw Moscow’s troops from the west bank of the Dnieper and leave the city of Kherson, where they were exposed to dangerous influence.
A 56-year-old veteran of the wars in Chechnya and Syria who was personally decorated by President Vladimir Putin, Surovikin argued that the withdrawal, officially completed two days later, would allow Moscow to salvage equipment and redeploy forces – estimated by the US to be up to 30,000. troops — in offensive operations on other fronts.
How do Russians and Westerners perceive this movement?
Russian pro-war commentators were not impressed.
“The sum does not change, only by swapping its parts,” wrote a well-known Russian military blogger under the nickname Rybar in Telegram.
He said Surovikin, a veteran of Russia’s campaigns in Chechnya and Syria, was seen as a “scapegoat” for a series of recent Russian military failures, including a Ukrainian attack on a Russian barracks in the town of Makiivka that killed at least 89 Russian soldiers. , including conscripts, for the New Year according to the Russian balance and 400 – according to the Ukrainian one.
Military analyst Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Institute for Foreign Policy Studies, wrote on Twitter that Gerasimov’s appointment reaffirmed the Defense Department’s position on the conduct of the war.
“I do not think that this is connected with the fact that Surovikin is perceived as a failure. It is (of course) possible that this was due to political reasons. As the commander in Ukraine, Surovikin was becoming very powerful and probably bypassed Shoigu/Gerasimov when communicating with Putin,” Lee said.
Russian troops are trying to reinforce the small town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine, suffering heavy casualties, a day after the leader of the Wagner Group said the town was under Russian control.
Soledar is of symbolic, military and commercial importance to Russia, and if its forces capture the city and its vast salt mines, it will be Moscow’s most important gain after a series of retreats for much of the second half of 2022.
Wagner released photos of its chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, with fighters in what appeared to be mines in Soledar, but the Ukrainian military denied that Russian forces had taken control of Soledar and said the intensity of fighting in the area could be compared to that of World War II.
Read also:
The US would try to prevent the liquidation of the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Army. How Valery Gerasimov escaped alive
Source: Hot News
James Springer is a renowned author and opinion writer, known for his bold and thought-provoking articles on a wide range of topics. He currently works as a writer at 247 news reel, where he uses his unique voice and sharp wit to offer fresh perspectives on current events. His articles are widely read and shared and has earned him a reputation as a talented and insightful writer.