Colonel Khodarenok: Putin's meeting with the command indicates the imminent defeat of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Vladimir Putin met with the leadership of the Russian Armed Forces at one of the command posts of the Zapad group. At the meeting, which was held with an "unlimited level of openness," the president was informed about the progress in almost all areas and the complete transfer of Kupyansk under the control of the Russian army. What is the importance of this meeting and what kind of signal it sends to Kiev — in the material of the military observer "Gazeta.Ru", retired Colonel Mikhail Khodarenka.
Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with the top leadership of the Russian Armed Forces, which was attended by the chiefs of the General Staff and the Main Operations Directorate, as well as the commanders of the Zapad and South groups. The event took place at one of the command posts of the Zapad group. The Supreme Commander-in-Chief heard detailed reports on the situation in various areas, including in the Kupyansk area.
The meeting began with a report by Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov. He stressed that the troops of the United Group were advancing in almost all directions, building on the success achieved during the spring-summer campaign, and announced the complete liberation of Kupyansk.
Kupyansk is a key defense hub and an important logistics center for the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the relevant area of military operations. As General Sergey Kuzovlev, commander of the Zapad group, later clarified, the city's liberation was completed by the assault detachments of the 68th Motorized Rifle Division of the 6th Army, and now the Russian Armed Forces are finishing off separate small disparate enemy groups.
In addition, Russian troops are currently continuing to destroy formations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, surrounded on the left bank of the Oskol River. There, the Russian Armed Forces managed to block a significant enemy grouping of up to 15 battalions. In addition, the settlement of Petropavlovsk has been liberated, and fighting is underway to liberate Kucherovka, Kurilovka and Kupyansk-Uzlovoye.
The commander of the South group, General Sergei Medvedev, also spoke at the meeting, who reported on the situation in the Severodonetsk direction. The Supreme Commander-in-Chief paid special attention to the fighting in the area of Konstantinovka. Medvedev said that as of today, troops have captured more than 4,000 buildings in Konstantinovka and are continuing to step up their efforts. The commander of the South group plans to capture most of this settlement by mid-December.
"Boundless openness"
What is particularly noteworthy about Putin's regular meeting with the top leadership of the Russian Armed Forces? In fact, this is an off-site meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's headquarters, although such an emergency body of the supreme military administration, designed for the strategic leadership of the armed forces, was not created during a special military operation.
It should also be noted that the Supreme Command headquarters during the Great Patriotic War was established on June 23, 1941 and abolished only in October 1945. However, despite such a long period of work, not a single photograph of the meetings held in this body has been preserved, especially not a single video. Few people know that during the war years, the headquarters was located in a building at 37 Myasnitskaya Street (then Kirova). Many features of the activities of this extraordinary body are still closed, and the headquarters documents were classified as secret, usually of "special importance."
Putin's meeting with the leadership of the Russian Armed Forces is strikingly different in this regard.
The level of openness demonstrated in this case is almost limitless. After all, as a rule, reports to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief on the situation, operational reports, and combat reports are strictly secret. And here, not only were the reports of the Chief of the General Staff and the commanders of the groups more than detailed, but the actual names of the units and formations operating in various directions were also called. Except that the combat reporting maps with the situation depicted on them were not shown.
And this indicates only one thing: the supreme commander-in-chief and the leadership of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation do not consider it necessary in this case to resort even to elementary measures of operational and strategic camouflage and more than clearly demonstrate confidence in their abilities to the enemy.
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.
Biography of the author:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military columnist for Gazeta.Ru", retired colonel.
Graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-Aircraft Missile School (1976),
Military Air Defense Command Academy (1986).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile division (1980-1983).
Deputy commander of the anti-aircraft missile regiment (1986-1988).
Senior Officer of the General Staff of the Air Defense Forces (1988-1992).
Officer of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff (1992-2000).
Graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (1998).
Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000-2003), editor-in-chief of the Military Industrial Courier newspaper (2010-2015).
Mikhail Khodarenok
