’General Armageddon’ replaced as Ukraine war leader in sign of Russia’s growing desperation

Russia has brutally replaced the commander of the war in Ukraine after just three months, in yet another sign of Putin’s growing desperation.

The Russian general in charge of the war in Ukraine has been replaced after just three months in the top job, in what has been seen as another sign of Vladimir Putin’s growing desperation.

The infamous Sergei Surovikin – dubbed “General Armageddon” – was appointed as overall commander of the Russian army in October 2022.

But now, the Kremlin has announced that he is already being replaced by Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the general staff, with Surovikin to serve under him as a deputy.

Sergei Surovikin, known as ‘General Armageddon’, was put in charge of the Russian campaign in October.

But he’s already been replaced by General Valery Gerasimov.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Russia’s defence ministry announced that Gerasimov’s appointment was a “raising of the status of the leadership” of the military operation in Ukraine, with the decision made to “improve the quality … and effectiveness of the management of Russian forces”.

While the wording was deliberately both vague and optimistic, it has been seen by Russian watchers as an obvious demotion for Surovikin – and a sign of Vladimir Putin’s increasing anxiety over the stalling invasion, which has been raging since February 2022.

Speaking to CNN about the reshuffle, Mark Galeotti, senior associate fellow with the Royal United Services Institute, said Gerasimov had been handed “the most poisoned of chalices. It’s now on him, and I suspect Putin has unrealistic expectations again”.

His appointment comes after both Gerasimov and Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu have been hit by harsh criticism over the handling of the invasion, which has been dragging on for almost one year with no victory in sight.

It has been seen as a sign of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s growing desperation. Picture: Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik/AFP

According to a respected Russian military blogger, identified only as Rybar, Gerasimov’s appointment is doomed to fail, and proves Russia is hoping for “a miracle in the 11th month of the special operation”.

“The sum does not change by moving around its parts,” Rybar wrote on Telegram.

That sentiment was echoed by Rand Corporation senior researcher Dara Massicot, who claimed Russia was “demoting their most competent senior commander and replacing him with an incompetent one”.

“This is a story that has it all: infighting, power struggles, jealousy,” she said, adding that Shoigu and Gerasimov were behind the campaign’s planning failures.

“They flunked it. They signed off on a secret plan, multiple bad assumptions, didn’t tell the majority of their troops. [It] led to big casualties and a partially broken force,” she posted on Twitter.

The war has been raging for almost one year with no victory in sight for Russia. Picture: Anatolii Stepanov/AFP

In an update on the Ukraine war, Britain’s defence ministry said the move would spark “extreme displeasure by much of the Russian ultranationalist and military blogger community” who have lionised Surovikin while “increasingly” blaming Gerasimov “for the poor execution of the war”.

The update added that his promotion was “a clear acknowledgment that the campaign is falling short of Russia’s strategic goals”.

The reshuffle is just one in a string of recent signs that the Russian invasion is faltering, with US and Ukrainian insiders revealing to CNN that Russia’s artillery fire has now fallen significantly from its peak, down by up to 75 per cent in certain areas.

According to CNN, the US predicts the rate of Russian fire has fallen from 20,000 rounds per day to 5000, while Ukraine puts the number far higher, down to 20,000 per day from a high of 60,000, although both sets of numbers show an obvious massive reduction.

While it’s not yet clear what’s behind the major drop, which could potentially be caused by the rationing of dwindling weapon supplies or a tactical reassessment of the military operation, it’s yet another clear indication that the war is not exactly going to plan for the rogue nation.