Critical developments continue to occur one after another in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin changed the name he had given to the head of the forces in Ukraine three months ago. Chief of Staff Valeri Gerasimov had set the agenda for Putin’s decision to lead the war, which he called a “special military operation”. The appointment was also evaluated in conjunction with the ongoing fierce clashes in Soledar. A critical development took place in that city. Now, one has begun to wonder what are the plans in Putin’s mind regarding the war. Here are the details…
“SOLEDAR CITY IS FULLY UNDER CONTROL”
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that they took the city of Soledar in the Donetsk region under full control yesterday. “The acquisition of Soledar is a critical step in order to carry out successful offensives in the future,” the Russian Ministry of Defense said.
AGE OF GERASIMOV
General Gerasimov had replaced Sergei Surovikin at Putin’s decision. In the three months after General Surovikin took office, attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure intensified. In the statement made by the Russian Ministry of Defense regarding the change of duty, it was noted that the appointment of General Gerasimov was made “for the different elements within the armed forces to act more organized and effectively”. Some experts considered the reshuffle as a sign that Surovikin may have gained too much power.
Military analyst Rob Lee shared on his Twitter account that “Surovikin was getting very powerful and probably skipped Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and Chief of Staff Gerasimov while talking to Putin.”
Experts also underlined that General Gerasimov, who was brought in charge of the Ukrainian forces, and Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner group, did not get along well.