Vladimir Putin has fired five generals from the Russian military’s highest ranks amid Moscow’s stumbling invasion of Ukraine, according to local media reports.
The dismissals come just days before Russia’s 100-day invasion of Ukraine.
Russia has fared poorly in its military incursion, suffering massive losses.
Putin’s dismissal of the generals was reported by the Russian newspaper Pravda, which cited an extract of the decree.
The decree named five major generals — Vasily Kukushkin, Alexander Laas, Andrey Lipilin, Alexander Udovenko, and Yuri Instrankin — as well as police colonel Emil Musin.
All five major generals held leading positions in the military for their various regions.
Their dismissal comes just weeks after the dismissal of two generals for poor performance in Ukraine.
Lieutenant General Serhiy Kisel, the commander of the elite 1st Guards Tank Army, was suspended, according to UK intelligence, for failing to capture Kharkiv.
Meanwhile, after the sinking of the Moskva battleship in April, Vice Admiral Igor Osipov, the commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, was fired.
Meanwhile, Russia’s top commander for the Ukraine war, Gen. Alexander Dvornikov, has been missing for weeks, prompting some US officials to speculate that he may have been relieved of his duties.
At least 25 Russian generals and commanders have been killed in action amid the Ukraine war.
Aside from the reorganisation and culling of Russia’s military elite, there has been unrest among rank-and-file officers involved in the conflict. Hundreds of Russian soldiers have deserted the military, and more than 100 members of Putin’s “private army” have been fired for refusing to fight in Ukraine.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has gone horribly wrong, particularly after “devastating losses” of junior officers.
According to Western officials, approximately 15,000 Russians were killed during the invasion.
In the meantime, Ukraine claims to have killed 30,000 Russian soldiers.
The Ukraine war, which began on February 24 when Putin invaded the country without warning, is now in its 100th day.https://www.tvcnews.tv/2022/04/russia-ukraine-war-putin-orders-troops-to-block-mariupol-steel-plant/
