Oct 30, 2023 

A Russian commander in charge of Moscow’s fight in southern Ukraine’s Kherson region has been replaced due to poor results, it has been reported.

Russian military bloggers have said Colonel General Oleg Makarevich, who had commanded the Dnieper grouping of forces, has been replaced by Colonel General Mikhail Teplinsky, commander of Russia’s Airborne Forces (VDV).

The Telegram channel Brief posted that, in the reshuffle, Teplinsky had been demoted from deputy commander of Russia’s forces in Ukraine, although the independent think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said this has not been verified.

The Telegram account Romanov Light posted that Makarevich had been removed because of “the discrepancy between the real situation and his reports.” The post added that the appointment of Teplinsky was “good news for us and bad for our opponents,” as he is a favorite among milbloggers.

The Kremlin-affiliated milblogger Rybar said that a Ukrainian “bridgehead” in the settlement of Krynky was probably the reason for Makarevich’s removal, which the Russian source Brief said took place when Vladimir Putin visited the Southern Military District (SMD) headquarters on October 19.

The ISW said on Sunday that Russian milbloggers reported that Ukrainian forces have maintained positions on the left bank and had continued with cross-river attacks, as they unsuccessfully tried to advance east of Kherson City and close to the bank of the Dnieper River.

Other milbloggers said that Makarevich’s negligence and lack of command initiative had allowed repeated Ukrainian landings on Kherson’s east bank that pose a risk for Russian operations in the area. Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry for comment by email.

The ISW said that Makarevich may have been stood down due to concerns in the Kremlin and Russian high command about his ability to repel larger-than-usual ground operations on the left bank of Kherson oblast.

Another explanation might have been that Makarevich’s opponents had been successful in convincing Vladimir Putin of his failure to command the Kherson direction against intensified Ukrainian ground attacks, the ISW think tank added.

Kremlin-affiliated milblogger Rybar said that rumors about Makarevich’s dismissal emerged over the last week and that the Deputy Chief of the Russian General Staff Colonel General Alexei Kim effectively commands the entire Joint Grouping of Russian Forces in Ukraine.

The pro-Ukrainian X (formerly Twitter) account of (((Tendar))) posted that despite the claims Makarevich had failed to report an accurate picture of the situation on the ground, it “sounds more like that they needed another scape goat for the Russian failures in this sector.”

https://www.newsweek.com/russia-ukraine-kherson-dnieper-isw-1838958