After the debacle in Kharkiv: Putin fires the next commanders

Created: 05/19/2022, 10:02 am

By: Nail Akkoyun

The Ukraine war continues to be difficult for Russia.

According to the British Ministry of Defense, more commanders have now been dismissed.

Moscow/London - The British Ministry of Defense announced on May 19 that Russia fired several of its top military commanders in April.

The reason: the failed capture of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

In addition, the sinking of the Russian flagship "Moskva" played a decisive role.

The commanders performed "poorly," particularly in the early stages of the Ukraine war, according to the Defense Ministry's most recent intelligence report.

"Lieutenant-General Serhiy Kisel, who commanded the elite 1st Guards Tank Army, was suspended for his failure to take Kharkiv," British newspaper The Independent quoted the dossier as saying.

Ukraine war: "culture of cover-up and scapegoating" in Russia

"Vice Admiral Igor Osipov, who commanded the Russian Black Sea Fleet, was also likely suspended after the sinking of the cruiser Moskva in April," it said.

Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, more and more reports of suspensions and arrests in their own ranks have been piling up.

According to the British Ministry of Defence, Vladimir Putin has once again fired several military personnel.

(Archive photo) © Mikhail Metzel/Imago Images

The Ukrainian secret service recently reported on the alleged dismissal of the two high-ranking military officers by Vladimir Putin.

It was also noticed that Ossipov was absent from the May 9 military parade marking the 77th anniversary of the end of World War II in Sevastopol on the annexed Black Sea peninsula of Crimea.

According to the UK MoD, behind the new layoffs is likely a "culture of cover-up and scapegoating in the Russian military and security system."

The assumptions coincide with current media reports, according to which even Valeri Gerasimov, chief of the Russian General Staff, is said to have been affected by the "cleansing" in Moscow.

(nak/dpa)