The ISW said General Popov's complaints "are likely impacting Russian forces throughout" Ukraine and General Seliverstov's reported dismissal four days later "suggest that the Russian command may have fired Seliverstov for similar reasons". The second commander to be sacked was Major General Vladimir Seliverstov, who led a division defending Bakhmut against the Ukrainian counteroffensive where a lack of supplies and poor conditions have been reported. General Popov was thought to have bypassed the chain of command and complained about a lack of troop rotations, heavy losses and poor counterbattery capabilities in western Zaporizhzhia directly to Vladimir Putin, the ISW said. "Dismissal(s) may be a part of an ongoing purge of insubordinate commanders by the Russian military command and may suggest that the corrosion of the Russian chain of command in Ukraine is accelerating," said the US-based think tank.Ĭhallenges to chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov and defence minister Sergei Shoigu - the pair Wagner sought to topple last month - threaten to "hollow out support for the Russian military command among senior officers", it explained. The Kremlin may be purging insubordinate commanders from the Russian military, according to analysts.Įarlier this week the army sacked General Major Ivan Popov for a "scathing attack" on its top brass, before military bloggers reported yesterday a second commander was dismissed who had a reputation for speaking up on behalf of his soldiers.Ī "pattern of behaviour" is "intensifying" within the Russian command in which commanders "have challenged the authority of senior" leaders, said the Institute for the Study of War.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |