Putin Rumored To Be Overhauling Army Over 'Disastrous Offensive'—ISW

Vladimir Putin is believed to have overhauled his top military brass following significant failures in his invasion of Ukraine.

The military blogger Voyenkor Kotenko Z wrote on his Telegram channel that the Russian leader signed a decree on April 20 about military command changes and dismissed General Rustam Muradov, who was commander of the Eastern Military District (EMD).

The blogger said that the dismissal followed "serious losses in manpower and equipment" in Vuhledar. The decree is said to have forced the retirement of Army General Aleksandr Dvornikov, who had reportedly commanded Russian forces in Ukraine in April 2022.

"The milblogger noted that Muradov's dismissal likely resulted from his disastrous offensive" on the Donetsk oblast town, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said on Monday.

The same presidential decree also sent into retirement Western Military District (WMD) Colonel General Alexander Zhuravlyov and other military leaders, according to the Telegram post.

"From now on, the mistakes and inaction of their predecessors will have to be corrected by other commanders, I hope, more competent ones," added the post which claimed that the Kremlin hopes the reappointment Commander of the Russian Airborne Forces (VDV) Colonel General Mikhail Teplinsky will get results.

Teplinsky had been removed from Moscow's operations in Ukraine in January 2023 and last week, British defense officials noted that his reinstatement followed "intense tensions" over Moscow's military approach in Ukraine.

On April 19, it was reported that Russian Pacific Fleet commander, Admiral Sergei Avakyants, had resigned following a snap inspection of the military preparedness of the fleet's units.

However, another military blogger, Sladkov, wrote on Telegram that the dismissal had not been linked to poor performance in the exercises in Russia's far east but because Avakyants was forming a new organization under the control of the "gas sector."

"It is unclear if this was an intentionally vague reference to the reports about Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom's formation of a private security company," the ISW said.

The U.S. think tank has previously reported that Russian state gas companies, namely Gazprom, are forming military groupings.

British defense officials said on Tuesday that the Russian winter offensive had "failed to achieve its objectives" and Putin's forces were focused on preparing for a much-anticipated Ukrainian offensive.

The U.K. Ministry of Defense (MOD) said that so far this month, Russia's average daily casualty rate had probably fallen by 30 percent, following exceptionally heavy Russian casualties over the first three months of the year.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry for comment.