ISW explained the reasons for Putin's change of commander of the Russian ground forces

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has dismissed the commander of the ground forces of the Russian Armed Forces, Oleg Salyukov, and appointed Andrei Mordvichev in his place. This appointment likely means that the Kremlin approves of the tactics developed under Mordvichev's command - namely, the use of high-casualty, infantry-led assaults - and seeks to consolidate these tactics. This is reported by analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in a new report, reports UNN.

Details

"Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on May 15 appointing former Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces General Oleg Salyukov as Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council. (...) The Russian Defense Ministry has appointed Colonel-General Andrei Mordvichev as Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces instead of Salyukov," the report said.

According to ISW, Mordvichev recently served as commander of both the central grouping of troops of the Russian Federation and the central military district of Russia, and oversaw the capture of Avdiivka by Russia in February 2024.

ISW also emphasizes that Russian insider sources and milbloggers welcomed Mordvichev's appointment and interpreted it as a sign that the Kremlin is launching a modernization aimed at strengthening Russia's ability to plan and execute operations in Ukraine and beyond.

"The Kremlin likely appointed Mordvichev to extend positional warfare tactics and operational concepts to grind out insignificant advances - the main tactic Russian forces used in the Avdiivka-Pokrovsk direction - to the Russian ground forces. Mordvichev's appointment indicates that the Kremlin approves of the tactics developed under Mordvichev's command - namely, the use of high-casualty, infantry-led assaults - and seeks to consolidate this tactic, which the ground forces command has used since late 2023 to advance in the Avdiivka-Pokrovsk direction," the analysts note.

The report emphasizes that Mordvichev is one of the few Russian commanders who has achieved tactical penetration deep into the Ukrainian line of contact in the past two years and one of the most famous Russian commanders at the moment, but these limited tactical penetrations have come at a great cost.

Recall

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has dismissed the commander of the ground forces of the Russian Armed Forces Oleg Salyukov.