General Mark Hertling, the former commander of US forces in Europe, says Russia is violating one of the fundamental principles of war by trying to seize the town of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.

“At the beginning of the Russian invasion, I pointed out that the Russian army was violating each of the 9 principles of war. Now, in Bakhmut, in the absence of coordination between Prigozhin, Shoigu, Gerasimov and Putin, they seem to violate one thing: unity of command,” the American officer notes on his page. Twitter.

“Unity of command describes the unity of effort and unity of purpose that occurs when all participants — government, people, soldiers, commanders, units — understand what they are trying to accomplish and how to accomplish it,” he said. explains

Hertling also recalls that the Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz, considered one of history’s greatest military theorists, described unity of command as the “coordinating principle of war.”

“Soldiers thrown into battle where there is no ‘unity of purpose’ are the ones who suffer the most when this happens. The adversary, in this case Ukraine, is happy because the lack of unity of command creates dysfunctions for the enemy and numerous opportunities for an offensive,” explains Mark Hertling, former head of the US Europe and Africa Command in 2011-2012.

Disagreements between the chief of mercenaries Wagner and the leadership of the Russian army

Hertling’s comments came just a day after Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner PMC mercenaries that led the Russian offensive in the Bakhmut area, complained that his representative had been denied access to the “special forces operation” headquarters.

“On March 5, I wrote a letter to the GSPO commander about the urgent need to allocate ammunition to us. On March 6, at 8 o’clock in the morning, my representative at the headquarters had his pass canceled and was not allowed to enter the headquarters,” Prigozhin said on Monday.

On Sunday, he again complained about the ammunition problems his fighters would have.

“At the moment, we are trying to find out what the reason is: this is ordinary bureaucracy or treason,” he said. In the second half of February, he also suggested that the Moscow military leadership was guilty of “treason.” ” for not supplying his mercenaries with the necessary ammunition.

Prigozhin then claimed that the Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu and the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, General Valery Gerasimov, forbade the supply of ammunition to “Wagner” and prohibited “air transport assistance” to Wagner’s mercenaries.

There is simply direct opposition. This can be equated to treason,” he said on February 21.

Earlier in February, it was reported that Serhiy Shoigu had ordered to exclude Prigozhin from the propaganda matrix of Moscow because of his repeated criticism of the military leadership.

Problems in Ukraine with “unity of order”?

It is interesting that Hertling’s comments about the problems of the Russian army appeared a day after reports appeared in the media about disagreements between the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi and the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine General Valery Zaluzhny regarding the feasibility of withdrawing from Bakhmut.

The German newspaper Bild, citing several sources in the political leadership of Ukraine, wrote that Zaluzhny a few weeks ago recommended the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from this city, which Russia had been trying to conquer since the beginning of August last year.

But this option would not be accepted by political leaders in Kyiv due to the strong symbolism that the city has acquired in the Donetsk region, and the fear that the unblocking of Russian troops from here could still lead to the start of an offensive in other sectors of the front.

Also on Monday, The Kyiv Post published a report that allegedly at least partially confirms the information that appeared in Bild. Several Ukrainian soldiers interviewed by The Kyiv Post journalists complained to them that they do not feel protected by the army leadership and that the Russians are attacking in waves.

“When you’re in a position, there’s not even a 50/50 chance you’re going to get out (alive). The chances are “more like 30/70,” said one of the interviewed Ukrainian soldiers.

Another, a military doctor originally from Odesa, reported that “our battalion has arrived [la Bahmut] in mid-December there were 500 between the other platoons.” “Last month there were only 150 of us,” he told Ukrainian journalists.

This information was indirectly commented on by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi in his address to the people on Monday evening, assuring that Kyiv troops will not retreat from Bakhmut.

“Society must understand the meaning of our defense operations, the true meaning. Today, at the meeting of the General Staff, I directly asked Commander Sirskyi (Olexander Sirskyi, commander of the Eastern Operation – no), and Chief of Staff Zaluzhnyi, how they see the further development of the defensive operation in the Bakhmut direction. Should we leave or continue the defense and secure the city?” he said.

“Both generals answered: we are not retreating and are strengthening. And this position was unanimously supported by the General Staff. There were no other positions,” said the President of Ukraine.

Zelenskyi also wanted to draw the attention of Ukrainians not to fall for disinformation messages “from those who do not even hear secret defense discussions, but claim that defense decisions have been made.”

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