Putin probably wants to create military chief in Ukraine: "Drastic step" - and a clear sign
Created: 2022-06-23Updated: 2022-06-23 05:18
By: Richard Strobl
Vladimir Putin (left) with Alexander Dvornikov (right) and Admiral Nikolay Evmenov (middle).
(Archive) © IMAGO / Russian Look
Vladimir Putin may want to change the supreme commander of the Ukraine invasion again.
There are probably personal reasons too.
Moscow - Vladimir Putin has already swapped his commander-in-chief for the invasion in the escalating Ukraine conflict.
Now apparently the current chief strategist has also fallen out of favor.
According to a report by the renowned Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Alexander Dvornikov could soon be replaced as the Russian supreme commander in Ukraine.
The 60-year-old is also called the "Butcher of Syria" because of his merciless decisions in war situations.
The ISW refers to various Russian sources that suggest this conclusion.
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A Russian officer claimed on June 21, according to the ISW, that Dvornikov is to be effectively replaced by Sergei Surovikin.
This - currently commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces - will therefore be appointed commander of the southern military district.
The Ukrainian team of experts CIT, on the other hand, reported that Dvornikov had been replaced by Colonel-General Gennady Zhidko.
Zhidko is currently the head of the military-political directorate of the Russian Armed Forces.
This is responsible for the moral and ideological situation in the Russian military.
The conclusion is that Putin has divided Dvornikov's current duties on two shoulders in Russia's military: Surovikin replaced him as commander of the southern military district and Zhidko was appointed commander of the Russian operation in Ukraine.
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Drastic conclusions about the war situation
The ISW itself points out that the reports cannot currently be checked independently.
However, the report by the investigative journalist group Bellingcat is also interesting in this context.
Accordingly, Putin plans to replace Dvornikov as head of the Ukraine invasion because he drinks excessively and has openly shown no confidence in the Russian armed forces.
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If these reports are correct, the ISW classifies this decision in the Kremlin as a "drastic step".
This applies both to replacing the commander in the midst of major combat operations and to appointing a separate commander for the southern military districts.
The experts' clear conclusion: "Such drastic rotations within the Russian military, if true, are not actions by a force on the verge of great success and point to an ongoing dysfunction in the Kremlin's warfare."
