Purge in full swing: Putin has deposed disgruntled generals

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Before his uprising, Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin (62) said what many commanders and generals in the Russian army have in common: they are dissatisfied with the leadership, dissatisfied with supplies, with logistics, with the lack of ammunition.

Now the experts of the American “Institute for the Study of War” (ISW) report that the Russian Ministry of Defense has started removing unruly and rebellious commanders from “the most combat-capable units and units”. “It appears to be accelerating efforts,” the ISW writes, citing Russian sources.

Important commanders are gone – or arrested

The institute lists several commanders who have fallen out of favor and been removed from their posts: Colonel General Ivan Popov of the 58th Army is probably the most prominent. Also mentioned are Major General Vladimir Seliverstov (106th Airborne Division), Major General Alexander Kornev (7th Airborne Division), Major General Ramil Ibatullin (90th Armored Division) and Colonel Sergei Karasev (31st Airborne Division). Two Ibatullin deputies were reportedly arrested.

After his demotion, Colonel General Popov turned to his soldiers, his “gladiators”, and published a one-minute audio recording. He even wanted to tell Putin himself about the mistakes of the army leadership – but was fired shortly afterwards. “I pointed out the chief tragedy of modern warfare – the lack of return fire, the lack of artillery reconnaissance, and the massive losses and wounds of our brethren at the hands of enemy artillery.”

“Who are we going to win victories with?”

According to the ISW, the affected commanders belong to these units, which play an important role in the defense of the Russian positions. These are key sectors of the front in Ukraine. The commanders were removed not for mistakes, but for disobedience. So will the Russian military be weakened by the leadership changes?

The Russian war bloggers fear it. According to “Bild”, Russian war propagandist Yuriy Podoljak writes in frustration on Telegram: “Judging by the list of commanders who have already been suspended (the most intelligent have been suspended), our General Staff does not see the enemy as a greater threat, but undermining his own authority, that – let’s face it – he’s been out of the army for a long time.” And he adds: “Who are we going to win victories with?”

The ISW’s US experts now write that the shot could backfire for the Kremlin: “The growing dynamic of disobedience among Russian commanders in Ukraine could prompt other commanders to oppose the Russian military leadership more openly.” (new)

Source: Blick