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Russian President Vladimir Putin has fired the general tasked with managing the faltering logistics operations of the Russian army in Ukraine.
The Defense Ministry said on Telegram that General Dmitry Bulgakov, the deputy defense minister, was dismissed from his post on Saturday.
The ministry said the 67-year-old general was “released from his post” to move to a new position.
He will be replaced by Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, who ran Moscow’s brutal siege of the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol.
General Bulgakov has been in charge of the army’s logistical operations since 2008 and was responsible for the continued supply of Russian forces following their deployment to Syria in 2015.
But observers say the general has been pushed aside in Moscow in recent months, with many blaming him for chaotic logistical operations that have hampered Russia’s progress and led to a shortage of supplies for its forces.
In recent months, the Kremlin has had to turn to North Korea and Iran for new supplies of artillery and drones.
General Bulgakov’s dismissal comes as video footage spread on social media showing newly recruited Russian conscripts armed with rusty assault rifles.
Pro-war figures in Russia welcomed his removal, and hardliners likely would welcome the appointment of General Mizintsev, who was sanctioned by Britain for his role in leading the siege of Mariupol.
General Mezintsev, dubbed “the butcher of Mariupol” by many Ukrainians, also commanded Russian forces in Syria and was accused of masterminding a brutal bombing campaign that devastated the city of Aleppo.
photo released, Getty Images
The British Foreign Office said he used “odious tactics” and committed “atrocities” in both the Ukraine and Syria conflicts when it announced sanctions once morest the 60-year-old in March.
The changes in Putin’s staff come amid reports that the Russian leader has taken personal responsibility for the war effort and has begun giving orders to generals in Ukraine himself.
US officials told CNN that Moscow’s “increasingly dysfunctional command structure” has forced Putin to take a more active role in the war.
Last month, British defense officials suggested that Putin had set aside his defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, following top defense officials began deriding the “ineffective leadership of the great general”.
The New York Times reported that Putin refused to allow his commanders to withdraw from the southern city of Kherson, where Ukrainian forces are slowly advancing.
Citing US intelligence sources, the newspaper said his refusal to consider the withdrawal had lowered the morale of the Russian forces in the city, who have been largely cut off from their supply lines and rely on a series of pontoon bridges to resupply them.
