Putin allows Defence Ministry to reassert control over all Russian forces in Ukraine
Vladimir Putin has allowed the Ministry of Defence of Russia to reassert its control over all Russian forces in Ukraine.
Source: Institute for the Study of War (ISW)
Quote: "Once the bulk of the 300,000 mobilised reservists had arrived with units in Ukraine, Putin began allowing the Russian MoD to reassert its primacy over all Russian forces."
Details: Experts at the ISW have listed the number of events that indicate that Putin is likely to concentrate all Russian forces under the control of the Ministry of Defence of Russia:
- Putin named Gerasimov overall theatre commander on 11 January, subordinating Surovikin to him.
- The Russian Ministry of Defence began actively integrating the 1st and 2nd "DPR" and "LPR" [self-proclaimed and non-recognised "Donetsk People’s Republic" and "Luhansk People’s Republic" – ed.] army corps into the conventional Russian military and is reportedly removing proxy commanders, measures that are generating backlash within the ultranationalist community.
- The Russian Ministry of Defence is also attempting to restrict Wagner from receiving state ammunition and has stopped Wagner’s prisoner recruitment in favour of its own prisoner recruitment efforts.
- Gerasimov stripped Wagner of responsibility for Bakhmut, began introducing Russian conventional military reinforcements into the area, and ordered official Russian channels to use a euphemism for Wagner forces without using the Wagner name.
- The Russian Ministry of Defence is reportedly entertaining ideas to restrict milbloggers’ operations on the frontlines and is introducing new operational security and discipline regulations. These controversial measures are all part of the Russian MoD’s rushed attempts to unwind and resolve the aftermath of Putin’s refusal to order involuntary mobilisation in May 2022.
"Putin’s clear efforts to prepare the Russian people for a protracted and painful war suggest that he has realised that only the Russian MoD can actually sustain the large mechanised forces he needs to have any hope of achieving his ambitions in Ukraine," the ISW summed up.
Background: Andrii Yusov, representative of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, revealed that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin ordered Valery Gerasimov, newly-appointed commander of the occupation forces in Ukraine, to capture Donbas by March.
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