It was not without reason that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu appointed Chief of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov to lead the invasion, removing Sergei Surovikin from this post. This could indicate the Kremlin is preparing for a major offensive, political analyst Mark Galeotti said.
Galeotti believes that this decision punished both Surovikin and Gerasimov himself. If Gerasimov does not justify Putin's grandiose plans for Ukraine, then he will simply be eliminated.
According to the expert, Putin probably still has a lot of "unrealistic ideas" that he plans to implement during a severe new offensive. The new appointment is "confirmation that serious offensives are coming." In any case, Putin will be able to push his army's future failures onto Gerasimov.
Surovikin was in command of the invasion of Ukraine for a little over three months. The first missile attacks on the Ukrainian energy system marked his arrival.
Today, Shoigu demoted a general close to Prigozhin in his position, replacing him with Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces. The pro-war audience is indignant, fearing that there will be fewer bloodthirsty attacks on Ukraine.
