British intelligence names reason for reshuffle in Russian army command

The Ministry of Defense of Great Britain believes that the reshuffle in the leadership of Russia's military campaign in Ukraine indicates the challenges that the RF is facing in achieving its goals.

This follows from a recent review by British intelligence.

The replacement of the commander of the so-called "joint forces" of Russia in Ukraine from Sergey Surovikin to the chief of the general staff of the Russian armed forces, Valery Gerasimov, is described there as "a significant change in the approach of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the management of war."

"The appointment of the Chief of the General Staff as the commander of the theater of operations is an indicator of the increasing seriousness of the situation facing Russia and a clear recognition that the campaign does not correspond to Russia's strategic goals," the review says.

British intelligence believes that this move "is likely to be met with extreme displeasure by a large part of the Russian ultra-nationalist and military blogging community, which increasingly accuses Gerasimov of improperly conducting the war."

"In contrast, Surovikin has received widespread support from this community for advocating a more realistic approach. Now that he is the deputy commander, his authority and influence will almost certainly be significantly reduced," the British Ministry of Defense concluded.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on January 11, the Russian army of occupation changed the commander of the troops in Ukraine. He became the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Valery Gerasimov, and General Serhii Surovykin was demoted to his deputy.

In December 2022, the Russian army of occupation changed the commander of the troops of the Western Military District. General Yevhen Nikiforov became the fourth commander since the beginning of Russia's war against Ukraine.

On October 8, 2022, it became known that the Ministry of Defense of Russia appointed Sergey Surovikin as the new commander of the group of the Russian occupation army in Ukraine.