General Valery Gerasimov, the architect of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, took over the day-to-day running of Russia's military effort, convincing Vladimir Putin that his predecessor was too passive.. American and European officials say so.

But it was General Gerasimov's " And Moscow still doesn't have the troops, ammunition, or equipment needed for the massive new offensive promised by the country's military command, writes the New York Times..

Since Gerasimov replaced Gen. Sergei Surovikin, who commanded Russia's war against Ukraine for three months, Russia's military leadership has focused on tactical issues.. Issues were resolved whether soldiers should travel in civilian vehicles and use mobile phones. But while these issues may be of real concern to the military, there is no evidence that the Russian army has begun to address its fundamental problems, such as a shortage of ammunition and well-trained soldiers, despite playing the "

In Washington, as military and defense officials walk into the halls of the Pentagon with a growing list of Russian generals fired in 11 months of war (there have been 9 so far), the latest appointment of a “chief officer” is seen as part of a drama with a constantly changing cast of actors who.

" I think this suggests that the Russians still have not decided how they are going to command the battle.. In my opinion, the dysfunction of Russian commanders is quite deep,” said US Under Secretary of Defense for Political Affairs Colin Kahl..

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For the third time, replacing the chief commander of the war against Ukraine, Putin achieved little. Russian troops failed to occupy Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky is still in power, Ukraine's relations with the West are closer than ever. And while some cracks have emerged, NATO remains united. Even Russia's more modest goal of capturing the entire Donbas remains illusory. To remedy the situation, Putin again turned to General Gerasimov..

For 10 years, it was believed that Gerasimov was working on the modernization of the Russian army, holding the post of chief of the General Staff. He studied American failures in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya and the former Yugoslavia in order to use them in planning. But the evidence supporting the existence of these efforts has yet to be seen on the battlefield in Ukraine..

“The 67-year-old Gerasimov has the inherent contradictions of high-ranking Russian leaders: his colleagues in the West talk about his personal competence, but he promotes his government’s lies. Early last year, he told Western officials that Russia was not going to invade Ukraine.. A few weeks later, Russian troops crossed the border. He also remains close to Putin, who put him in charge of the army more than a decade ago.. In his rare public comments, echoing Putin's propaganda, General Gerasimov calls Russia a victim of Western aggression without explaining his strategy to neutralize this perceived threat..

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In an attempt to rebuild the Russian army, General Gerasimov stepped up the use of irregular tactics, mistakenly believing that the Americans were leading them.. He overlooked what the U.S. is really good at - fighting as a united force, bringing together different military capabilities to create a superior force.. National security expert Seth Jones. As a result, the Russian army gained experience in implementing subversive and underground tactics.. For example, Moscow sent unmarked " But the war against Ukraine requires a different type of maneuvering. Offensive campaigns should be conducted with a large number of ground forces in different areas in order to capture territory. And in this, General Gerasimov showed his inefficiency. The troops that were sent in the direction of Kyiv at the beginning of the war were not provided with basic things and very soon stopped on the outskirts of the city. Gerasimov did not improve the ability of the Russian army to deploy significant forces on land, at sea and by air. Although his invasion plan is heavily dependent on such opportunities.

Russian forces stuck and then decimated in northern Ukrainian cities. Gerasimov himself almost fell victim to his poor military planning when he was nearly killed by a Ukrainian strike in late April during his visit to the front lines.. Dozens of Russians were then killed. After that, Moscow reduced the visits of leaders to the front..

“This is due to a serious lack of training and operational experience in the Russian Ministry of Defense. When you go to a real war like the one that is going on in Ukraine, all the shortcomings immediately appear on the surface, ”said General Ben Hodges, former commander of the US Army in Europe..

The result of these shortcomings was put on display last November on Russian state television.. Standing in front of a map and the Russian flag, General Surovikin announced the withdrawal of the Russian army from Kherson south of the city, calling it a " Then at a well-rehearsed meeting in front of television cameras there was no Putin. US and NATO officials believe this was indicative of the Russian president's desire to stay away from any military setback.. Only a month before the retreat from Kherson, General Surovikin was appointed commander of the occupying forces in Ukraine, replacing General Alexander Dvornikov in this post..

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The New York Times, citing U.S. military and Biden administration officials, writes that Surovikin has strengthened Russia's shaky positions in Ukraine, in particular in the south.. He promoted the retreat from Kherson, which minimized Russian losses.. After that, he concentrated on what the US military calls "

In Washington, because of this, there were fears that Russia could withstand the Ukrainian offensive in this way.. But Russian military bloggers reacted differently.. They became influential voices criticizing the Russian military command for the retreat from Kherson. Putin did not like this plan. And at first he rejected Surovikin's recommendations for the withdrawal of troops from the city. In the US, they believe that Gerasimov and Shoigu will use Putin's skepticism about the defensive position against Surovikin.

In December, U.S. officials predicted that General Gerasimov and Shoigu would try to reassert their control of the military amid a fierce battle for Putin's attention.. In January, they took their step forward by organizing the demotion of General Surovikin. Officials say Gerasimov and Shoigu attacked Surovikin's defensive position and suggested returning to a "

Another sign of a broad reshuffling was the likely dismissal of General Mikhail Teplinsky, who, according to British intelligence, was one of the key Russian operational commanders in Ukraine.. Teplinskiy was the officer responsible for the relatively successful withdrawal of troops from the right bank of the Dnieper in November 2022. In Russia, he was praised as a capable and pragmatic commander.. The U.S. and Western military believe Gerasimov's promotion was meant to curtail criticism from military bloggers and halt the rise of Yevgeny Prigozhin, owner of the Wagner PMC, whose mercenaries staged a bloody assault on Bakhmut. Prigozhin was also a big fan of Surovikin..

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Putin still insists that Russia will seize Donbass and even Kyiv. Therefore, expectations are growing that General Gerasimov will be under pressure to carry out a successful offensive in the spring, military officials and analysts say..

" And I suspect Putin has unrealistic expectations again,” Russia expert Mark Galeotti tweeted, calling Gerasimov’s promotion “the most poisonous of cups.”.