ISW Reveals Why Russia Lays Off Generals
- 28.04.2023, 8:07
The Kremlin is afraid of a Ukrainian counteroffensive.
On the eve, the Russian mass media reported that Rosgvardiya's deputy head Colonel Aleksey Kuzmenkov had replaced General Mikhail Mizintsev as the Russian Defence Ministry's deputy head for logistics.
Military blogger associated with the Wagner PMC says removal of Mizintsev from his post is the result of a surprise inspection of the Russian Defence Ministry regarding the combat readiness of the Northern Fleet. Analysts from the Institute for the Study of War have looked into the situation.
RosSMI reports that the inspection itself was initiated by Russian Airborne Forces Commander Teplinsky, who said that the Russian army deployed in Ukraine was underarmed.
It is possible that Yevgeny Prigozhin, who accused the Russian Defence Ministry of ignoring his requests regarding the allocation of ammunition, is behind this inspection. It is well known that Teplinsky and Wagner have a strong ties between them.
Mizintsev became chief of logistics on 24 September 2022.
Russian military correspondents also reported that Yury Kuznetsov, former head of the 8th Directorate of the Russian General Staff, will become head of the Main Personnel Directorate of the Russian Defence Ministry. Also, the head of the National Defence Administration Centre, Oleg Gorshenin, will be dismissed from his post.
The three management bodies reportedly receiving new leadership as part of this reshuffle are noteworthy because they are related to aspects of Russian force generation, troop supply and logistics supervision.
The National Defence Management Centre of Russia is the body responsible for coordinating the activities of the Russian Armed Forces, and is essentially the nerve centre of the entire MoD. Along with coordinating the actions of the National Defence Control Centre, the bodies in charge of personnel and logistics supervision contribute to the critical functions of troop supplies.
Analysts believe that such personnel reshuffles in the MoD occurred amid fears over the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
This change also suggests that the current commanders in charge of these functions failed to contribute properly to the Russian Federation's winter offensive, which largely ended without significant success. However, these changes are unlikely to create the conditions for a timely response by Russian forces to the Ukrainian counteroffensive. These changes may be part of a broader effort to reform and formalise the Russian Armed Forces in the long run.