A “purge” of senior officers may begin in Russia/Defense-ua
The Russian occupying army has been suffering catastrophic losses and defeats in Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale war. Hoping to somehow change this, the Kremlin may begin to “purge” senior officers.
This was told at the Institute for the Study of War. In particular, experts noted that the commander of the Airborne Forces was recently replaced in Russia.The Institute for the Study of War said the Kremlin is likely in the process of a radical overhaul of the command structure for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This indicates a possible purge of senior officers accused of failures in Ukraine.
In particular, several Russian media have confirmed that the current Chief of Staff of the Central Military District, Colonel General Mikhail Teplinskiy, will replace the commander of the Russian Airborne Forces, Gen. Colonel Andrey Serdyukov. According to Ukrainian sources, the Kremlin fired Serdyukov for poor performance during the invasion and significant losses among the paratroopers.
Several sources also reported conflicting statements about replacing the current commander of the Southern Military District and the main commander of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, General Alexander Dvornikova:
- Russian reserve officer Oleg Marzoev announced on June 21 that the military would soon appoint General of the Army Sergei Surovikin, commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces, to the position of commander of the Southern Military District, effectively replacing Dvornikov.
- At the same time, Bellingcat reported on June 17 that Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to replace Dvornikov as commander of the invasion of Ukraine due to excessive drinking and distrust on the part of the Russian military.
- Also, CIT reported on June 19 that the Kremlin dictator replaced Dvornikov with Colonel-General Gennady Zhidko, head of the Military-Political Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces.
- On the unofficial page of the Russian Airborne Forces in social networks, it is said that Dvornikov has received a promotion, and Serdyukov will take his post. However, this information is hardly true, because pro-Kremlin sources announced the resignation of Serdyukov.
Therefore, it can be assumed that in the post of commander of the Southern Military District, Surovikin really replaced Dvornikov, who was probably forced to resign. At the same time, Zhidko was appointed commander of Russian operations in Ukraine. Note that he is in charge of the body of the Russian Ministry of Defense responsible for maintaining moral and ideological control among the Russian military.
Changes in command point to Russia's defeat
The ISW previously reported that Dvornikov was a natural choice to command Russia's operations in Ukraine after the infidels were defeated in the battle for Kyiv. After all, most of the offensive operations of the Russian troops are now being carried out in the zone of responsibility of the Southern Military District.
The appointment of a separate commander of the Southern Military District and the replacement of the air defense commander (Southern Military District – Channel 24) within the main military action is a decisive step that may indicate a serious crisis within the Russian high command, the specialists added.
The ISW concluded that such drastic changes in the Russian army are not actions that are on the brink of great success. This only points to the Kremlin's ongoing dysfunction in waging war.
