According to the American media CNN, the clumsiness of the Russians in the management of the conflict could be explained by the fact that the Russians have still not officially designated a commander to direct the operations.
“It’s one of the principles of war: unity of command. In other words, a determined person must assume the responsibilities in their entirety: coordination of fire, logistical direction, commitment of the reserve, appreciation of the successes (and failures) of all the “components” of the operation, and reassessment actions to be taken based on all of this, ”said Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, former commander of the United States Army in Europe, on CNN.
Indeed, the Russian army has not been able to coordinate its efforts since the start of the conflict and each of the units must act independently without having an overall view of the entire conflict. The United States would therefore not be able to confirm whether Moscow has appointed a military commander responsible for the direction of the war in Ukraine,” the American news channel reported.
“In the past, Russia has made this type of information public, but this time the Russian Defense Ministry made no mention of a senior commander for operations in Ukraine and did not respond to solicitations from CNN on the subject,” added the American media.
The absence of Sergei Shoigu
Even more worrying, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has resurfaced after two weeks of absence according to images released by the Ministry of Defense. But these images are not dated and the Kremlin may have found a way to silence the rumors. And while Russia may have quietly assigned a senior commander to oversee the invasion, combat operations would suggest “he’s incompetent” in the words of Mark Hertling.
“Soldiers and officers sometimes use off-the-shelf cell phones and other unsecured tools to communicate with each other, which makes their communications easier to intercept and helps Ukraine prepare for its counter-offensives,” he said. former Commander of the United States Army in Europe.
