Who is Gerasimov, Russia’s new war commander, and why was he appointed? |
January 12 (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin’s defense minister is Russia’s highest-ranking general, the General Staff chief, appointed 67-year-old Valery Gerasimov to lead the war in Ukraine. .
CRITICISM
Many nationalist war bloggers, licensed by the Kremlin to criticize the conduct of the war, blame Gerasimov for failing to keep up with the superpower’s military, which has supposedly been modernized and expensively reequipped over the past 15 years. smaller neighbor.
In Ukraine, in the West and even Russia critics within Russia they view their armed forces as naïve, poorly trained and equipped, slow to react, fragmented by disparate and often distant command structures.
After the failure of an unplanned mobilization campaign to turn the tide in Russia’s favor, Gerasimov, who had been out of public view for months, was rumored to be out of action.
Both Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner Group’s contract militias, and Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of the Chechen republic in southern Russia, ostentatiously claimed that their supposedly superior, semi-autonomous forces had succeeded on the battlefield and thinly veiled criticism of Gerasimov.
Supporters of the Ministry of Defense say that Russia often performs poorly at the beginning of wars and the end 10 During the month, many of the problems in supply, technology and command have been solved or are being solved.
HOW MUCH IS IT FOR THE BATTLEFIELD?
Ministry of Defence said that “special military The seniority of the commander in charge of the operation reflects the expansion of its scale and the need to improve organization and command.
Gerasimov’s deputies were the previous theater commander, appointed three months ago and “General Armageddon” will be the army general Sergey Surovikin; Army General Oleg Salyukov; and Deputy Chief of Staff general-Colonel Alexey Kim.
Hard, which is given a lot of space on state television military expert Igor Korotchenko says that Putin’s decision of Ukraine It stems from the West’s acquisition of longer-range heavy weapons and the prospect of the West soon acquiring armored fighting vehicles and possibly battle tanks.
According to him, the arrival of Gerasimov has increased the possibility that Russia will use nuclear weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine:
Gerasimov’s appointment means that all means of destruction in the arsenals of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation can be used without exception.”
Shoigu on Tuesday to build a deeper weapons arsenal, weather has pledged to boost aviation technology and improve drone production to better evade its defense systems.
WHAT ABOUT POLITICS?
By giving Gerasimov direct command Putin It could send a signal to the West that it is determined to win the war, strengthen the army’s position vis-à-vis Prigozhin and Kadyrov’s militias, and at least make its top general more accountable for the day. today’s progress of the occupation.
A Russian using the name Wargonzo military blogger Semyon Pegov said: “Now the General Staff is directly and uncompromisingly responsible for everything.”
“‘General Armageddon’ is still at the center of decision-making, but in a less vulnerable state.”
Tatyana Stanova, founder of political analysis firm R., wasn’t sure the change would make much of a difference.
“Because of Surovik’s serious failures, Gerasimov took command of the military operation,” he said.
“Putin “Reptile” is looking for effective tactics against the background of defeat.
“He tries to change parts and therefore gives chances to people he finds credible. Today, Gerasimov was convincing. It could be someone else tomorrow.”
WHO IS GERASIMOV?
Gerasimov on November 9, 2012, three days after Sergei Shoigu, a longtime Putin ally, was appointed defense minister. Putin Headquarters by chief and was appointed Deputy Minister of Defense.
Each of the men is holding one of three nuclear briefcases capable of delivering a nuclear strike to Russia.
Gerasimov in Russia’s 2014 seizure of Crimea from Ukraine and Russia’s Syrian civil war the president He played a key role in changing military support for Bashar al-Assad.
US Department of State of Ukraine imposed sanctions on him a day after the invasion, saying he was one of three senior Russians directly responsible for the war, along with Putin.
Nevertheless, Gerasimov sometimes USAChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, USA speaks with Army General Mark Milley.
Born in Kazan on September 8, 1955, Gerasimov rose through the ranks of the Russian tank troops to graduate from the Military Academy of the General Staff in 1997.
Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Edited by Kevin Liffey
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2023-01-13 05:24:57
Source – reuters
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