Military reforms could be adjusted to respond to security threats, new commander Gerasimov says.
The new Russian general in charge of operations in Ukraine said military reforms would respond to the potential expansion of NATO and the “collective West,” which he accused of waging a hybrid war against Moscow.
In his first public statements, Valery Gerasimov, chief of Russia’s military general staff, acknowledged problems in mobilizing troops and broader challenges in the conflict that began 11 months ago.
“The system of mobilization training in our country was not fully adapted to the new modern economic relations,” Gerasimov told news website Argumenty i Fakty in a note published late Monday.
“So I had to fix everything along the way.”
Military reforms announced in mid-January could be adjusted to respond to security threats, he warned.
“Today, like that [security] Threats include efforts by the North Atlantic Alliance to expand into Finland and Sweden, as well as using Ukraine as a tool to wage a hybrid war against our country,” he said.
Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO last year in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Also planned are two additional military districts in Moscow and Leningrad, and three motorized rifle divisions as part of the combined arms formations in Kherson and Zaporizhia – regions that Russia claims were “annexed” in September after international referenda were denounced as meaningless.
Russia’s defense ministry has faced increasing criticism over battlefield casualties and Moscow’s failure to win a campaign that the Kremlin only expected to be short-lived.
But Gerasimov said modern Russia has never experienced such “intensity of military hostilities,” forcing it to conduct offensive operations to stabilize the situation.
“Our country and its armed forces are taking action against the entire collective West today,” he said.
A man plays the violin during a service held by local residents in front of their apartment building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro [Anatolii Stepanov/AFP]
Western allies are supporting Ukraine’s efforts to defeat Russian forces by supplying arms, ammunition and humanitarian aid.
But as the war approaches its anniversary, the goals of Russia’s “military special operations” have shifted.
What began as an operation to “denazify” and “demilitarize” Ukraine is now billed as defending against Western hostility and a unipolar world.
“The main goal of this work is to ensure guaranteed protection of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country,” Gerasimov said.