Why does this personnel decision mean a serious increase in the level of the campaign in UkraineRussian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has appointed a new commander of a special military operation.
He became the chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov. Sergey Surovikin, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces, Oleg Salyukov, and Deputy Chief of the General Staff Alexey Kim have been designated as his deputies, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on January 11. Experts note that this personnel decision has seriously increased the status of a military special operation. In the DPR on this day, Russian units blocked Soledar and liberated the settlement of Podgorodnoye.
At the head of the special operation
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has made new appointments to lead a special military operation, the military department reported on January 11. The commander of the Combined Group of Troops (forces) was the Chief of the General Staff, Army General Valery Gerasimov.
His deputies were appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces, Army General Sergei Surovikin, Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces, Army General Oleg Salyukov and Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Colonel-General Alexei Kim.
The Ministry of Defense noted that the increase in the level of leadership of the special operation is associated with the expansion of the scale of the tasks being solved, the need to organize closer interaction between the types and genera of the Armed Forces, improving the quality of support and the effectiveness of the management of groups of troops.
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| Commander of the special military operation, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov |
| Source: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation |
Such appointments seriously raise the status of a special military operation and speak of the imminent intensification of hostilities, military expert Vladislav Shurygin explained to Izvestia.
— It should be understood that in the Russian military command structure, the Chief of the General Staff is the second person after the Supreme Commander—in-Chief. In some matters, his status is even higher than that of the Minister of Defense," the expert explained. — We must not forget that the Chief of the General Staff has the right to give instructions on military issues not only to the Ministry of Defense, but also to other law enforcement agencies. The General Staff also has an important say in the procurement of weapons and military equipment.
The expert explained that, in particular, until recently, Sergei Surovikin, as the commander of the SVO, did not have the right to give orders to Long-range Aviation, the Navy, the Main Intelligence Directorate, etc. The commander of the OGV(c) interacted with the Rosgvardiya and other law enforcement agencies through their governing bodies.
— With the appointment of Gerasimov, without joking, we can say that the entire military power of the state will be directed to solving the tasks of its own, — said Vladislav Shurygin.
The expert also suggested what tasks will be assigned to the newly appointed deputy commanders of the OGV(c) of the SVO. According to Vladislav Shurygin, Oleg Salyukov will be responsible for organizing the training of personnel. Alexey Kim will develop combat plans. And Sergey Surovikin will continue to lead the troops directly on the spot — in the zone of his own.
Soledar is blocked
On January 11, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that thanks to the successful offensive of Russian troops, Soledar was blocked in the DPR and the nearby settlement of Podgorodnoye was liberated.
— Airborne units blocked Soledar from the northern and southern parts of the city. The Russian Aerospace Forces strike at enemy strongholds. Assault squads are fighting in the city. As a result of the fire damage of the units of the 61st mechanized and 17th tank brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, up to 80 Ukrainian servicemen, one tank, three armored fighting vehicles and two cars were destroyed, - the official representative of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, said the details of the fighting.
Also in the Donetsk direction near Artemovsk, the command and observation post of the battalion of the 57th Motorized Infantry Brigade of the VFU was hit.
For the defense of Artemovsk and Soledar, the enemy concentrated more than half of the mobile units available to him. The fact that even at the same time he failed to contain the offensive speaks of heavy losses from the actions of Russian troops recently, military expert Dmitry Boltenkov told Izvestia.
Photo: RIA Novosti
Image source: iz.ru
— Now this is the hottest place on the entire front, but the scale of the battles that unfolded over Soledar clearly did not correspond to the strategic value of this small town, — the expert said. — For the Ukrainian command, the city had great symbolic significance and it was decided to keep it at any cost. There, one after another, the battalions and brigades of the VFU were thrown there, which quickly "stitched up", bearing losses. Until the very last moment, they were not allowed to withdraw, which created the threat of encirclement and captivity for hundreds of soldiers.
According to the expert, the success at Soledar will facilitate the attack on Artemovsk and the breakthrough of the powerful defense line created there by the Ukrainians.
— They have already managed to insert a wedge into the positions of the VFU to the north of it, occupying the village of Podgorodnoye, — Dmitry Boltenkov emphasized. — There is progress in the south. There is no doubt that Russian troops will try to cover the city from both sides and block the supply routes, squeezing the enemy out of there, repeating the success in Soledar.
Another Su-27 was shot down
On January 11, the Ministry of Defense told other details of the battles with Ukrainian formations in the SVO zone.
In the Kupyansk direction, more than 30 servicemen and two vehicles were destroyed by strikes on the accumulations of manpower of the 92nd mechanized brigade of the VFU and the 103rd Brigade of the territorial Defense.
The assault groups of the 95th, 80th airborne assault and 25th airborne brigades of the VFU were defeated in the Red-Liman direction. In addition, four sabotage and reconnaissance groups of the VFU have been liquidated.
The losses of Ukrainian formations during the day in this direction amounted to up to 90 servicemen killed and wounded, two armored combat vehicles and three cars.
Up to 25 servicemen, an infantry fighting vehicle and two vehicles were destroyed in the South Donetsk direction.
Photo: RIA Novosti
Image source: iz.ru
Operational-tactical, army aviation, missile troops and artillery of Russia hit 74 artillery units of the VFU and 113 areas of concentration of troops.
In the course of the counter-battery struggle, US-made AN/TPQ-50 and AN/TPQ-36 radars were destroyed. In addition, the Ukrainian launcher of the multiple launch rocket system "Hurricane", the US-made M777 artillery system, two 2S7 "Peony" self-propelled guns, a towed D-20 howitzer, two D-30 howitzers and a 2S1 "Carnation" self-propelled gun were hit.
Fighter aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces shot down a Su-27 aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force near the settlement of Popov Yar in the DPR.
During the day, the Russian air defense shot down two drones, five rockets of the HIMARS and Alder multiple launch rocket systems in the areas of the settlements of Debaltseve, Yenakiyevo in the DPR and Kartamyshevo in the LPR, and an American HARM anti-radar missile in the Bryanka area in the LPR.
In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 371 aircraft, 200 helicopters, 2,868 unmanned aerial vehicles, 400 anti-aircraft missile systems, 7,473 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 976 multiple rocket launchers, 3809 field artillery and mortars, as well as 8006 units of special military vehicles have been destroyed, Igor Konashenkov listed.
Keep in touch
The Russian Defense Ministry told about the servicemen who showed courage and dedication in the battles.
During the attack on the stronghold, Sergeant Igor Alekseev pinned down the enemy's actions with aimed fire, reducing the pace of his offensive. The enemy opened mortar fire on Alekseev's position. Due to the mortar ammunition that exploded nearby, Igor received a concussion, but did not come out of the battle and, leaving the firing zone, continued to fire. During the battle, the militants, having suffered significant losses, retreated. Thanks to the courage and dedication of Igor Alekseev, the task of defending the stronghold was completed.
Photo: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
Image source: iz.ru
The positions of the battalion tactical group, which Ensign Dmitry Bocharnikov provided with communications, were attacked by Ukrainian formations. During the battle, some of the equipment and communication lines were damaged.
Under heavy artillery fire, Dmitry personally restored a wired connection between the battalion's command and observation post and platoon strongpoints. His timely actions helped to deliver an accurate fire strike on the advancing enemy and his artillery positions, thwarting the attack.
Andrey Fedorov
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