Russia's Central Military District gets new acting commander amid war in Ukraine; Know why

As Russia has formulated the new goal of its 'special military operation' in Ukraine, Commander of Russia's Central Military District Colonel General Alexander Lapin has been replaced with Major General Alexander Linkov. This development comes in wake of Russia losing many captured territories in Ukraine. Linkov had earlier previously served as head of Russia's Central Military District's organisational and mobilisation department.

In its latest intelligence briefing, the UK Defence Ministry on November 6 said: "If confirmed, this follows a series of dismissals of senior Russian military commanders since the onset of the invasion in February 2022". According to the UK MoD, Russia replaced the commanders of the Eastern, Southern, and Western Military Districts earlier. Alexander Linkov now replaced colonel general Alexander Lapin who was removed in October 2022.

It is to mention that Yevgenii Prigozhin, Wagner Group founder, and Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov have blamed Lapin for the withdrawal of Russian forces from Lyman, a key logistic hub in Donetsk Oblast, which was liberated on October 1.

"These dismissals represent a pattern of blame against senior Russian military commanders for failures to achieve Russian objectives on the battlefield. This is in part likely an attempt to insulate and deflect blame from Russian senior leadership at home," the UK MoD stressed.

Alexander Lapin blamed for recent Russian retreat in Ukrain

It is to mention that Alexander Lapin was felicitated with the title of “Hero of Russia” by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russian media reported that the honour was bestowed upon him because of his efforts in the capture of Lisitsiansk. 

However, Ramzan Kadyrov in October had criticised Alexander Lapin. As per Meduza, the head of Chechnya blamed Lapin for defending an area in the northern part of the Donetsk region, where troops of Ukraine recently broke through. The Russian soldiers that were sent to assist allegedly “couldn’t find Lapin’s fighters for an entire day,” said Kadyrov. He added that Russian soldiers under Lapin “are still getting caught” around Rubizhne and Kreminna and they even felt demoralised, “without communications, provisions, or ammunition.”

Kadyrov further claimed that for many days, he failed in an attempt to connect with Lapin to discuss what happened, adding that “My guys can’t find him.”

A day after reports emerged that Lapin had been fired, the Daily Mail on November 4 reported that Lapin is taking a three-week holiday.