UK claims Russia sacked senior commanders over 'poor performance' in Ukraine invasion

Russia in recent weeks sacked senior commanders over "poor performance" during the opening stages of their "military operation" in Ukraine, stated the UK Defence Ministry in its latest intelligence update on Thursday. It further claimed that a "culture of cover-ups and scape-goating is probably prevalent" within the Russian forces and security system. The intelligence update released by the UK Defence Ministry comes as the war between Russia and Ukraine has entered day 85.

"In recent weeks, Russia has fired senior commanders who are considered to have performed poorly during the opening stages of its invasion of Ukraine," the UK Defence Ministry said in the statement. 

According to the UK Defence Ministry's intelligence update, many officials involved in the military offensive will likely be "increasingly distracted" by efforts to avoid being held responsible for Russia's operational setbacks. It said that the action of Russian forces will impact Russia's centralised model of command and control. It added that Lieutenant General Serhiy Kisel, who commanded the elite 1st Guards Tank Army, has been suspended by Russia for his failure to take control of Kharkiv. Vice Admiral Igor Osipov, who commanded Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, has likely been suspended after the sinking of the cruiser Moskva. Moreover, General Valery Gerasimov, Russia’s most senior military chief, likely continues to retain his post. However, the UK Defence Ministry stated that it is unclear whether General Gerasimov continues to have the confidence of Russian President Vladimir Putin.  

"This will likely place further strain on Russia's centralised model of command and control, as officers increasingly seek to defer key decisions to their superiors. It will be difficult for Russia to regain the initiative under these conditions," the UK Defence Ministry said in the statement. 

Ukraine claims Russia 'increasingly refusing' orders to conduct offensive 

The Russia-Ukraine war has now continued for more than 80 days with the Ukrainian military claiming to have killed as many as 28,000 troops since the war started. Meanwhile, the Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine on Wednesday, 18 May, claimed that Russian armed forces have been "increasingly refusing" to carry out orders of the commands to conduct active offensive operations in Ukraine. Kyiv has claimed that several units of the 70th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment have "already openly refused" to participate in the war, according to the Ukrainian Defence Intelligence. According to Ukraine, Russian forces have refused to participate in the war and demanded that they must be returned to their places of permanent deployment. It further said that commanders of Russian armed forces have been attempting to hide the disobedience of troops.   

Image: AP