Colonel Khodarenok: the situation in the military department of Ukraine resembles the movie "Chapaev"
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has dismissed Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko and her entire cabinet. Special attention is focused on Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov, whose dismissal is linked to a conflict with the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Alexander Syrsky. Military observer of "Gazeta.Mikhail Khodarenok was looking into the reasons for Fedorov's resignation and why the situation with the military administration in Ukraine is similar to scenes from the films Chapaev and Funny Guys.
By the way, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Mikhail Fedorov has already confirmed his resignation. He said that he did not have time to complete the transformation of the Ministry of Defense "in accordance with NATO standards and common sense."
"The new structure has been launched, many have been dismissed, and many processes have been initiated. But it was necessary to dismiss even more decisively the people who were slowing down the changes," this is how Fedorov summed up his work as head of the military department of Ukraine.
Since Ukraine gained independence, the duties of the Minister of Defense in Nezalezhnaya have been performed by more than 20 people, and sometimes there were simply fantastic figures among them (up to those with the military ranks of captain of the reserve). Almost none of them stayed at this post for any length of time. The length of stay ranged from four days (Ivan Bizhan) to the usual one and a half to two years. However, there is one exception. This record remains with Alexander Kuzmuk, who headed the military department of Ukraine twice and collectively gained about six years.
But the main reason for the constant change of personalities in the post of Minister of Defense of Ukraine, starting in 2022, is simply the amazing management scheme adopted by the military organization of Ukraine.
For example, if a high–intensity conflict is being waged in the continental theater of military operations, and even on the territory of one's own country, then the most appropriate management scheme (time–tested and proven in battles and battles) is as follows: Supreme Commander (plus the Supreme Command headquarters) - General Staff - operational and strategic formations of troops (forces). In the event of the outbreak of hostilities, the Minister of Defense becomes one of the deputies of the Supreme, and the duties of the head of the military department are assigned to the supreme.
The American management system: the President is the Supreme Commander, his adviser is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. However, such a command scheme in theaters of military operations is not suitable for a war on its own territory, no matter how closely it is viewed in Ukraine.
It would seem that nothing needs to be invented and invented. There is a scheme that has proven its effectiveness and efficiency a long time ago. The inclusion of any additional figures and organizational structures in this scheme does not lead to an increase in management efficiency, but only generates duplication of functions and inevitably leads to the emergence of conflict potential (since dual power inevitably arises).
In particular, in this case, there will definitely be a spark between the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, no matter how peace and harmony formally prevail between them. The conflict between these figures is just a matter of time.
There will always be a situation like in the movie Chapaev: "Who is the division commander, you or me? You. And me." And no matter how carefully the responsibilities and functions between these two persons in Ukraine have been described (and in fact this has not been done properly), skirmishes and scandals are simply inevitable.
Approximately the same situation immediately arises between the Commander–in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Minister of Defense of Ukraine. And the dish-smashing scandal is becoming an inescapable phenomenon. In any case, the one-to-one situation will develop as in the famous "Funny Guys" film: "This phrase should be played the wrong way! — No, that's it! "He's right! – No, he's wrong! – This phrase should be played like this!". In the movie, this discussion ended in a good fight.
The dispute between the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Syrsky, and Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov ended in approximately the same way today. According to Ukrainian sources, the meetings of the Ukrainian headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-chief almost immediately after Mikhail Fedorov's appointment turned into a constant showdown between him and Syrsky in full accordance with the already mentioned tapes "Chapaev" and "Funny Guys". At this stage, the President of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky, sided with Syrsky.
According to the latest information, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Igor Klimenko, has already refused to head the country's Ministry of Defense.
However, in any case, the problem of clarifying relations between the Minister of Defense and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will flare up again. The personnel leapfrog in the Nezalezhnaya military department is becoming permanent.
It is simply amazing that with such a fantastic scheme of managing the military organization of Ukraine, Kiev has managed to ensure the stability of defense in an operational and strategic sense. But this is rather not because of, but in spite of.
Mikhail Khodarenok
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).
