Russia Dismissing Senior Commanders For Poor Performances In Ukraine War

Russia has been struggling to get the upper hand in its war against Ukraine and senior commanders are in the hot seat.

According to intelligence reports, some senior commanders from Russia have been fired for their unsatisfactory performance in the ongoing war against Ukraine.

According to the United Kingdom defense ministry, some of the senior officers who were suspended include Lt. Gen. Serhiy Kisel, who commanded the 1st Guards Tank Army, and Vice Adm. Igor Osipov, who commanded Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.

Of that list, Kisel is reportedly likely to be suspended due to his failure to capture Kharkiv and Osipov. The latter case is telling since this is where the sinking of the cruiser Moskva happened back in April.

One name, Russian Chief of the General Staff Valeriy Gerasimov, is believed to still be holding his position. However, this needs further verification with British intelligence reportedly uncertain of his status.

Although the suspensions or relieving of senior commanders is understandable, the report also pointed out how these could be all part of a cover-up for Moscow’s shortcomings.

Also, British intelligence adds that officials involved in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “will likely be increasingly distracted by efforts to avoid personal culpability for Russia’s operational set-backs,” leading to a “strain on Russia’s centralised model of command and control.”

This comes roughly months after Russia invaded Ukraine. The conflict is in its third month and despite the belief that Russia would be a power that would be concerning to Ukraine, it has not resulted as most had forecasted.

A clear example is Kyiv, a region that most predicted would easily fall to Russian hands within days. As of this writing, that has yet to happen and the failure of a swift takeover has resulted in the low morale and loss of thousands of soldiers.