The Russian commanders spend a “long night” between promotions, torpedoes and rehabilitation. A consequence of their role. The man of the day is General Ivan Popov, who announced that he has been removed from office for denouncing the poor conduct of operations in Ukraine.
The contrast was made clear by the protagonist himself, in charge of the 58th Army, with a four-minute audio broadcast by Andrei Guryulov, a parliamentarian with nationalist positions. In the recording, Popov claims that the “Ukrainians failed to get through our lines, instead we were stabbed in the back by our leaders.” The officer pointed to the artillery’s deficiencies in responding to enemy attacks and poor reconnaissance, possibly because drones are few in number or countermeasures neutralize them. Then he admits massive losses.
These are not unprecedented aspects of which numerous testimonies from the southern front have already been reported in recent days. And the top politicians are still in the crosshairs of his allegations: “The choice is to remain silent, to be intimidated and to say what you want to hear, or to say how you really feel.” “On behalf of the fallen can I don’t lie.” In addition, a Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel added another objection: the lack of rotation of troops who had been deployed at the front for too long.
According to another reconstruction, Popov did not limit himself to the message, but spoke clearly and directly during an interview with Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov. The meeting took place in Berdyansk, a city hit the following day by a missile attack from a cruiser Storm Shadow that would have claimed many lives, including General Oleg Tsokov. These last details have uncertain contours, especially in such a dramatic phase. On the one hand, the offensive in Kiev, on the other hand, the tensions due to the failed uprising of mercenaries with unfolding events and mysteries to be solved.
For days, Russia has been repeating its reassuring message, insisting on presenting an image of normality. And here is the announcement of the delivery of large quantities of armaments, about 2,000 “pieces”, including armored personnel carriers, by the company led by Yevgeny Prigozhin. It would be proof that the agreement signed with the Belarusian mediator is being implemented. However, nobody has a clear idea of what is going on behind the walls of the Kremlin between confidential contacts and possible negotiations. Ivan Popov’s tough demeanor is not that of a would-be coup plotter, but that of an officer in charge of “regular” detachments. A statement – if authentic – that could find a continuation among his colleagues, since it evokes problems shared by superiors and apparently never resolved.
Then there is the unknown Surovik, who disappeared after being caught on video during the militia mutiny, a clip in which he asked his friend Prigozhin’s soldiers of fortune to stop. An MP said on Wednesday that the senior officer was resting and was “unavailable” at the moment. A statement that does not invalidate the suspicion that he was deposed or even arrested because he is too close to the “rebels” or, if you will, not far enough away.
American expert Dana Massicot points out that Sergei Surovikin is a prestige figure that she was following and that this could prompt the regime to act cautiously and unassumingly as idiots. At least in the near future. But the strategist who created the major defenses that have proved a tough nut to crack for the Ukrainians might as well stand still for a while, waiting to atone his responsibilities or give time to clarify his position.
The fluctuation of the hierarchies with ups and downs is plausible at decisive moments. Especially when the establishment faces difficult tests on the battlefield and in Moscow’s political hinterland. There’s intrigue, ambition, the usual divide and rule. At the same time, the history of purges (real, imagined, nonexistent) accompanies many crises in which one of the contenders is an “absolute” leader. Lots of stories about Saddam Hussein, Gaddafi, Assad, Kim and their possible unfaithful advisers, complaints, doubles. Real news mixed with psychological warfare measures.