In addition to the numerous personnel changes in the army in recent days, another one has been added today – the commander of the units in Ukraine has become the current commander of the Southern Military District and the commander of the Russian Air and Space Forces, Sergei Surovikin, who has the nickname Surovyi from his work in Syria.
On Friday, General Alexander Chaika lost his post as commander of the Eastern Military District.
Earlier this week, reports were confirmed that the command of the Western Military District had also changed, and last week the deputy minister of defense responsible for logistics lost his position.
“We know about the number of arrests, detentions and blocking of the army. All military units on the perimeter of Moscow are on high alert,” Ukrainian intelligence said, adding that the reason is not clear.
Unian points out that in Russia, the army is being made a scapegoat for the failures of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Personnel changes are being made in the army leadership.
According to Unian, there is talk that the head of the so-called Wagner army, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov want to achieve the replacement of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Kadyrov, who has been promoted twice since the beginning of the Ukrainian war, recently accused the Russian army command of not being able to react quickly to the deterioration of the situation on the Ukrainian battlefield. He also believes that Russia should use nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
Unian writes that both Prigozhin’s and Kadyrov’s words made their way into the Russian media, which for the first time ever saw criticism of the military command. According to a Ukrainian source, President Vladimir Putin is likely to blame army commanders for the failure of the war, and it is possible that Shoigu will become the scapegoat.
The BBC’s Russian service also reports that the Russian command is facing unprecedented criticism at a time of difficulties at the front and in mobilization.
MPs have also expressed outrage over recruitment and there are calls to “not lie”. The top leadership in the Kremlin is also noticing, and Putin has met with Russian military correspondents at least twice since the summer, according to Bloomberg. The last time was shortly before the announcement of “partial mobilization”.
Bloomberg wrote that at the meetings, reporters talked about the terrible situation at the front, and some left with doubts about whether the whole truth about the situation was reaching Putin.
Dissatisfaction is caused by chaotic mobilization – people who do not meet the criteria of conscription are taken to the front, they often look for equipment themselves and their training raises doubts.
