Russia has replaced commander of military operations in Ukraine, says Western official

As the Russian forces were unable to achieve the "goal" set by their President Vladimir Putin despite the war entering its 45th day, media reports claimed that the commander of Russia’s southern military district is now leading the "frustrated army". According to the sources of BBC, Russia’s southern military district, General Alexander Dvornikov, is now leading the Russian invasion. The name of the new commander was confirmed by a Western official who said that Dvornikov has extensive experience in Russian operations in Syria. Notably, the measure change took place amid reports that Moscow wants an 'announceable success' in eastern Ukraine by May 9, the day when Russia celebrates victory in the Great Patriotic War.

Noting the experience of the General, the official assumed that the overall command and control would improve against Ukraine. The official noted that Putin has changed the command in order to improve coordination between various units. It is to mention that Russia initiated a full-fledged war against Ukraine in February, nearly two days after Vladimir Putin signed a decree recognising the independence of breakaway regions Donetsk and Luhansk. Putin's action came despite the West's repetitive warning and speculations about his ill intention to invade Ukraine.

On several occasions, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russian forces were now frustrated and were not following the commands of their leader. Apart from frustration among the troops, Putin's forces have been facing immense casualties on their end as several top military officials were killed in recent days amid the ongoing war. As per Ukrainian Defence Ministry, Russian general Lt Gen Yakov Rezantsev was killed on March 27. The Ministry claimed Rezantsev was the highest-ranked officer to be killed in the past 45 days of the war.

Nealy 19,000 Russian troops killed since invasion

Notably, on Friday, Ukrainian Army's General Staff claimed the killing of nearly 19,000 Russian soldiers. Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had admitted to bearing a significant loss on the ground during an interview with Sky News on Thursday.  "We have significant losses of troops. It’s a huge tragedy for us," he said. Furthermore, the Kremlin spokesperson noted that he sees no possibility of Russian President Vladimir Putin ending up in a war crime case. 

Image: AP