Russia-Ukraine War: While Eastern Europe will soon mark the anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian army continues to count failures and losses on the battlefield. The Kremlin’s “special operation” has become a nightmare for the military, and several senior officials in the Russian military have already been removed, or demoted, such as Sergey Sorbykin, nicknamed General “Armageddon” in the Russian media. Alongside this, there are those who enjoy “special immunity”, such as the Minister of Defense, Sergei Shoigu.
Ben Hodges, the former commander of the United States military forces at the European Command, told the news agency “Reuters” that in his opinion Vigo and Gerasimov will be fired because they did not provide the military forces “that were of the type to carry out the tasks they were given, the Russian military had no way to avoid the poor performance on the battlefield “. According to him, the reasons for this unflattering performance were also the strategy, tactics, logistics, equipment and the problem of corruption in the army. He also emphasized that “it is unimaginable that the Minister of Defense maintains his position under such circumstances, in the West he would have been fired, he would have fallen on his sword because everyone sees his failures.”
Russian army in Ukraine (Photo: Reuters)
Despite Moscow’s failures in Ukraine, Jack Watling, a senior research associate at the RUSI think tank based in London, believed that “Shuygo significantly increased the military’s capabilities, and oversaw complex, but successful, operations prior to the invasion of Ukraine.” However, in his opinion “Shuygo exaggerated the capabilities of the army, the problem is that Putin and Gerasimov probably believed the myths of the Minister of Defense, and they too had very inflated feelings about the capabilities of the Russian army”.
Western sources said that Putin has various reasons for keeping 67-year-old Sergei Shoigu in his position, including his loyalty to the Russian president. “Andrew Weiss, a Kremlin expert, explained that “loyalty always trumps competence in Putin’s inner circle. The Russian president has also publicly admitted that he has difficulty firing people, and usually handles such matters personally.” According to him, “some people in senior positions, including Shoigu, enjoy this underappreciated sentimental side of Putin’s personality.”
The Russian Defense Minister is known for his tough personality, was trained as a civilian and has held leading positions in the Russian power structure since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. He was appointed Minister of Defense in 2012, as part of Putin’s inner circle.