In recent weeks, russia has fired many high-ranking commanders for failing in the initial stages of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
This was stated in this morning's report of the British Defense Intelligence Service.
In particular, Lieutenant General Sergei Kisel, who commanded the elite 1st Guards Tank Army, was suspended for failing to capture Kharkiv. Vice-Admiral Igor Osipov, who commanded the Black Sea Fleet, was also probably suspended after the sinking of the cruiser Moskva.
"Valery Gerasimov, head of the General Staff, appears to remain in his position, but it is unclear whether he has retained Putin's trust," the Defense Ministry said.
The reconnaissance officers added that a culture of concealment and scapegoating is common in the russian military and security system. The fact that many officials responsible for the war in Ukraine will try to avoid personal responsibility for russia's operational defeats will probably put additional strain on the centralized model of command and control.
"Officers tend to defer key decisions to management. Under these conditions, it will be difficult for russia to regain the initiative," the UK Ministry of Defense believes.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, after the UAF and Ukrainian "Neptun" missiles sent the pride of the enemy fleet cruiser Moskva to the bottom of the sea, the Commander of the Black Sea Fleet Osipov was not only fired but also arrested. Because of unsatisfactory preparation for combat operations and great losses of personnel and equipment the commanders of the 6th Army, Lieutenant General V. Ershov, Lieutenant General S. Kisel, and one of his deputy commanders were dismissed. Major General A. Marzoyev, commander of the 22nd AC of the Southern Military District, was also dismissed because of unsatisfactory execution of assigned tasks.