Full List of Russian Commanders Dismissed by Putin in Ukraine War
Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed at least eight senior Russian military commanders since he launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February, 2022, without transferring them to new posts, according to a report.
The Russian leader has made a number of military changes in recent weeks as insubordination displayed by Russia's commanders is spreading among troops, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank has said, assessing that this signals a chain-of-command problem.
Independent Russian news outlet Verstka reported that the first such dismissal of a Russian commander came several months into the war, in May 2022.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting on the Crimean Bridge attack via a video link at the Kremlin in Moscow on July 17, 2023. Putin has dismissed at least eight Russian military commanders since he launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine, without transferring them to new posts. ALEXANDER KAZAKOV/SPUTNIK/AFP/Getty Images
Newsweek contacted Russia's Defense Ministry by email for comment on Tuesday.
Lieutenant General Sergey Kisel
The British Ministry of Defence said in May, 2022, that Kisel, who commanded the elite 1st Guards Tank Army, was suspended for his failure to capture Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city.
Russia did not officially address the reports at the time, but Oleksiy Arestovych, then intelligence adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said he was suspended and that the Russian president had been purging his military commanders.
Vice Admiral Igor Osipov
The U.K. ministry also reported in May 2022 that Osipov, who commanded Russia's Black Sea Fleet, had been suspended following the sinking of the cruiser Moskva the previous month.
The vessel, the flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet, sank hours after Ukraine claimed to have dealt the vessel significant damage with a missile strike.
General Alexander Dvornikov
In June 2022, analysts with the Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT)—an independent investigative organization originating from Russia—said Dvornikov, commander of the troops of the Southern Military District, was removed from his post and replaced by General Gennady Zhidko, the former commander of the Eastern Military District.
One of Russia's most experienced military officers, Dvornikov was the first commander of the Russian army during its intervention in Syria in 2015.
He had just been appointed to the position in April 2022.
Colonel General Alexander Zhuravlev
The CIT also reported the dismissal of Colonel General Alexander Zhuravlev, the commander of the troops of the Western Military District (WMD), in October 2022.
The ISW at the time said Lieutenant General Roman Berdnikov had replaced Zhuravlev as commander of the WMD.
The U.S.-based think tank said Zhuravlev had not been seen for some time and that Putin "may be attempting to redirect the growing anger for Russian losses in Kharkiv Oblast and Lyman by assigning a new face prominently to the WMD."
Lieutenant General Rustam Muradov
The commander of Russia's Eastern Military District, Muradov, was removed from his post in March, 2023.
He was placed in charge of leading an offensive in the Ukrainian city of Vuhledar, in the eastern Donbas region, and came under fire from Russia's Wagner Group for his failure in the city, which a Kremlin-appointed official had claimed could turn the war in Moscow's favor.
Russia failed to capture the coal-mining city of Vuhledar after a 3-week battle that saw Russian tanks running over its own troops. Ukraine's military said in February that Russian forces had lost dozens of armored vehicles in the failed attempt to take the city.
Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev
A month later, in Apri,l 2023, a Russian war correspondent for the state-run newspaper Izvestia reported that Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev was removed from his post as deputy defense minister for logistics.
The Russian commander known as "the Butcher of Mariupol" had taken on the role in late September 2022.
General Sergey Surovikin
Surovikin, a former commander of Russia's forces in Ukraine, has not been seen in public since Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin led a mutiny from southern Russia towards Moscow on June 24. He was notably missing from a July 10 meeting of military officials.
According to The Moscow Times, Surovikin has been detained by authorities, though this has yet to be confirmed by Russian officials. Reuters reported U.S. intelligence as saying Surovikin was sympathetic to the Wagner rebellion, but it was unclear if he actively supported it. A senior Russian politician has said Surovikin was "resting."
Major General Vladimir Seliverstov
Verstka, citing pro-war Telegram channels, said the commander of the 106th Guards Airborne Division, Seliverstov, was removed from his post due to his "uncompromising nature," but noted that this has not officially been announced by the Kremlin.
The ISW said on July 15 that reports of Seliverstov's dismissal prompted further discussions about other alleged recent dismissals and arrests.
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Source: Newsweek
