01/11/2023
Gen. Valery Gerasimov replaces Sergey Surovikin as head of the war in Ukraine. Surovikin was in charge for only three months. Gerasimov initially opposed the invasion of and war in Ukraine, but his appointment may have more to do with politics. Recently, during the Russian advances in Ukraine around Soledar, the Wagner Group has made its role in the success overt, and its founder and head, Yevgeny Prigozhin (known as “Putin’s chef”), is close to Surokvikin. Prigozhin is also close with Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadryov, who also commands troops in the Ukraine war and has been openly critical of the Russian military execution in Ukraine. Gerasimov, however, is strongly tied to the Kremlin chain of command, so Putin may be reasserting the primacy of the established Russian military over the more maverick military warlords.