Criticism of military leadership: Russia replaces Ukraine commander

After criticism of military leadership
Russia replaces commander in Ukraine

10/10/2022, 5:16 PM (Updated)

The Russian military’s failures in Ukraine are now all too apparent, and criticism within the country is growing louder. Now the under-pressure defense minister is reacting to a war of aggression in a neighboring country by appointing a new war-experienced commander.

After several setbacks in the war of aggression, Russian troops in Ukraine now have a new commander. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu led the “military special operation” by 55-year-old Army General Sergei Churovikhin, ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in Moscow.

According to commentators, Shoigu is pandering to his critics, calling for a reintegration of troops in Ukraine in light of the defeats. The situation has recently been described as chaotic and catastrophic by military bloggers close to the Kremlin. According to the media, war correspondents, field commanders, and Wagner’s private combat troops responded enthusiastically to the appointment of a “responsible” soldier. Surovikhin is considered an officer with extensive experience in the past wars in Syria and, before that, in the Russian republic of Chechnya in the North Caucasus.

Serious reviews after withdrawal

Zurovikin previously commanded the Russian army’s “southern” forces in Ukraine, according to a July Defense Ministry statement. The previous commander of the operation in Ukraine was not officially named. But according to Russian media reports, it was Alexander Dvornikov, who also previously served in Chechnya and Syria.

Given that the Ukrainian army has scored many victories and recaptured several cities in its defensive offensive, huge challenges await Surovikhin. The Russian army recently withdrew from the Kharkiv region and also had to give up the strategically important city of Lyman in the Donetsk region. This once again sharpened criticism of the Russian military leadership.

With this in mind, Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization in September, which, in addition to new commanders, should provide a turnaround for Russia in Ukraine. About 300,000 reservists are to be called up to hold the occupied territories of Kherson, Zaporizhia, Luhansk and Donetsk regions and recapture lost territories.

Russia annexed most of the occupied territories after rigged referendums to gain access to its territory under international opposition. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced the liberation of all occupied territories, including the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014.

(This article was originally published on Saturday, October 08, 2022.)