In October, General Sergej Surovikin was appointed commander of the Russian forces in Ukraine. He has already been replaced by Chief of Defense Valeriy Gerasimov. This surprises retired lieutenant general Arne Bård Dalhaug, who discusses the change in an interview with Dagbladet TV.
– There are many who wonder why the change of leadership is happening at all. I am not personally excited about Surovikin, of course, but from a military point of view I consider that the result of what he has done in the last three months is quite good, says Dalhaug and continues:
– Surovikin can’t make gold out of gray stone, so you can’t really blame him for the Russian forces having to withdraw from Kherson, on the contrary, you should recognize that it was carried out in a fairly professional manner.
– Do you feel that Surovikin has done a good job?
– Yes, it is my opinion that he clearly did a better job than his predecessors. Basically, there is no reason to replace Surovikin now, as I see it.
EXPERT: Arne Bård Dalhaug. Photo: Lars Eivind Bones / Dagbladet
sea view
Gerasimov is allowed to undergo
Dalhaug, on the other hand, has a much worse impression of Gerasimov’s results.
– Gerasimov is responsible for everything that has gone wrong. He was given responsibility for the Russian defense in 2012 and has been the main architect behind what were supposed to be reforms in the Russian defense, which have resulted in the very poor results in Ukraine today.
– Gerasimov was also responsible for designing the military operation behind the invasion of Ukraine when it started last February. He was the one responsible for setting up command control, and he has been Surovikin’s immediate superior. It is not the case that Russia is now bringing in a person with blank slates.
Dalhaug separates Gerasimov:
– He clearly has a great deal of responsibility for the quagmire in which the Russian forces find themselves today.
Furthermore, he mentions that Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin and an ongoing power struggle may be the reason why Russia nevertheless replaces Surovikin with Gerasimov.
