Russia has appointed Valery Gerasimov as the “leader of the war” against Ukraine. The Pentagon believes that these changes most likely show “systemic challenges” for Russia.
The appointment of Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian General Staff, as commander of a special operation only demonstrates the systemic problems that Russia faced on February 24th. This was stated by Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder during a briefing on January 12.
The Pentagon recalled the problems of the Russian forces
He noted that the next change of “war commander” only once again testifies to the problems that exist in the Russian army. They have already been spoken about more than once: these are problems with logistics, command and control, support and morale of the military. Of course, the reason for these personnel changes and the failure to achieve the strategic goals that the Kremlin has set for itself.
Ryder said the Pentagon will “continue to monitor” similar personnel changes from Russia.
I think the world would like Russia to focus on withdrawing troops from Ukraine and saving innocent lives rather than wasting time on multiple personnel changes, and Russian soldiers and their families would probably want that too,” Ryder said.
How Ukraine and the world react to the appointment of Gerasimov
- On January 11, Sergei Surovikin was removed from his post as commander of the united group of troops in Ukraine. Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the aggressor country, was appointed to this post.
- British intelligence is skeptical about the appointment of Valery Gerasimov. They noted that this decision did not cause joy even among the Russians, who supported Surovikin much more.
- Meanwhile, Mikhail Podolyak claims that Gerasimov is not a random character. He is the ideologist of a hybrid war in the Donetsk region. At the same time, the adviser to the head of the OP believes that Putin lowered Surovikin due to the fact that he, along with Prigozhin, received too much influence.
