Russia has fired six military commanders for poor show in Ukraine: UK Defence Ministry

London: Russia has most likely fired six army commanders since its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the UK Defence Ministry said on Sunday. Sharing intelligence update, the ministry said the poor performance of Russia's armed forces during its invasion of Ukraine has been costly for its military leadership, "highly likely resulting in the dismissal of at least six Russian commanders since the start of hostilities in February 2022".

Russia had hoped for a quick victory over Ukraine, but it failed to anticipate Ukrainian resolve to fight for their nation. While Moscow failed to achieve its initial objective of capturing Kyiv, it has now taken control of about 20 percent of territory in the eastern region, known as Donbas - the industrial hub of Ukraine.

The UK Defence Ministry today said that the commanders of Russia's eastern and western military districts have highly likely lost their commands. General-Colonel Aleksandr Chayko was dismissed as commander of the eastern military district in May 2022, it said in a statement.

General-Colonel Aleksandr Zhuravlev, who has commanded the western military district since 2018, was absent from Russia's Navy Day in St Petersburg on 31 July 2022 and has highly likely been replaced by General-Lieutenant Vladimir Kochetkov, the statement said.

"General Aleksandr Vladimirovich Dvornikov has subsequently been removed after being given overall command of the operation in Ukraine, and General Sergei Surovikin has assumed command of the Southern Grouping of Forces from General Gennady Valeryevich Zhidko," the ministry said.

According to the intelligence update, these dismissals are compounded by at least 10 Russian Generals killed on the battlefield in Ukraine. The cumulative effect on the consistency of command is likely contributing to Russian tactical and operational difficulties, it added.