I long have argued that Russia's military problems go straight to the top, and running a massive war like the war on Ukraine requires commanders to be where the action is, not sitting safe and cozy behind desks in Moskva.
They did this same thing in Chechnya and South Ossetia, with predictable results.
A friend who I had a discussion with, termed it better: too much latency between where decisions were made and the FLOT
[KP] Revealed what the permutations in the command of the NWO mean
What does the reshuffle in the leadership of the special military operation mean?
by Igor Yakunin and Maria Bachenina
We discussed the latest military appointments related to the special operation in Ukraine, as well as a possible increase in the draft age on Radio Komsomolskaya Pravda, with the director of the Center for Military-Political Research, MGIMO professor Alexei Podberezkin.
What will change in the SVO?
- What, in your opinion, means castling in the command of the NWO?
- I would not call it castling. Someone might have got the impression, some time ago, that the General Staff is distancing itself from interference in the affairs of the NVO.
- In what sense?
- Well, as it seemed to someone, if he does not completely distance himself from the leadership of the special operation, then he participates in it somehow ... indirectly. There was even public criticism from the military. Decisions passed from the commander of the operation to the level of the chief of the General Staff and the Minister of Defense, bypassing the operational department or the General Staff itself.
- Well, and now?
- When Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces, was appointed head of the operation, everything fell into place.
- Is that how it should be?
- I guess so. And since the Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces, Oleg Leonidovich Salyukov, became his deputy in the leadership of the joint group, a team has formed that, in my opinion, corresponds to our traditional ideas that on the front line of a special operation, where certain sectors are seriously removed from the center of decisions, should be representatives of the Headquarters. I think it will.
- Will they manage together, from Moscow, or separately, from specific areas?
- The line of contact is about a thousand kilometers. Plus, a section of the Belarusian-Ukrainian border. And all this is far from Moscow. Everything stretched from Kherson to Belarus. Huge distances. Probably, it is required that some kind of leadership team be concentrated in one place, but each is responsible for his own direction.
They did not humiliate Surovikin
- General Surovikin, who has been the commander of the group since October 2022, is now Gerasimov's deputy. Is it a demotion
- I spoke about the representative of the Headquarters in battle formations. Surovikin, apparently, will be such. Although I know for sure that both Salyukov and, for example, Lapin have repeatedly visited these places. Probably, now the main issues will simply be resolved more quickly.
- What exactly?
- One of the problems was the multi-stage preparation and decision-making. This delay was criticized by many in the military. I think that now decisions can be made directly by Gerasimov, based on the situation.
- And how will the scenario of the military conflict change?
- Do not think that new big bosses have appeared - and everything will change instantly. Like Surovikin, who appeared in October, he did not appear immediately, with five or ten missing divisions. But the element of his participation had an effect.
- Will it happen here too?
- I think that decisions will be made more quickly, command and control systems will begin to develop more dynamically. I hope we will see the most optimal form of management for today. The line of contact is huge, its sections are very remote from each other, and there are objective difficulties here.
Call up to 30 years?
- They raise the issue of raising the draft age to 30 years.
- I have always said that it was impossible to deviate from the principle of mobilization readiness. Everyone must serve in our army without fail for compulsory military service, before entering the institute. After that contract, institute. As, for example, in the Israeli army. The mobilization reserve is sacred for our country, it is a must. This is my position.
- So what about the age?
- It's not important. Not always everyone was called up at the age of 18. In the USSR and in Russia, a delay was given to complete education. I served in the military after graduating from night school. This is important for training the missing link in the armed forces - non-commissioned officers and junior officers. You can decide that people will be drafted into the army from the age of 18, that this will be universal military duty, and give deferrals for a year, two, three, including for completing education, on the condition that you will then receive military registration specialty and you will be released as a junior lieutenant or lieutenant.