As the Ukrainian Army was encircling Russian troops in the key east Ukrainian city of Lyman, the Kremlin dismissed the very commander of the Russian army in that district, the Ukrainian OSINT project Informnapalm reported.
According to Russian registers of legal entities, Roman Berdnikov replaced Aleksandr Zhuravlyov as commander of the Western Military District on 28 September.
However, the website of Russia’s MoD still features Zhuravlyov as the commander.
This is the fifth time that the commander of this district was been replaced in the last five months, Defense Express notes, highlighting the Kremlin’s chaotic personnel policy.
Aleksandr Zhuravlyov commanded the Western Military District since 2018, but on May 25, 2022 he was dismissed from his post due to Russia’s huge losses during the storming of Izium in the fall. Other commanders on the post include Gennadiy Zhidko, Andrey Sychevoy, and Roman Berdnikov, who took the post on 26 August.
On September 11, i.e. 15 days after the liberation of Izium, Berdnikov was replaced by Zhuravlyov. And after 17 more days, Zhuravlyov was out again, and Berdnikov got the position once again.
“The logic of changing Berdnikov to Zhuravlyov, and then again to Berdnikov within one month, especially during the active phase of hostilities, is incomprehensible,” Defence Express notes.
Russian troops encircled at Lyman, Donetsk Oblast: UPDATED
