The Russian Ministry of Defense has reportedly dismissed the commanders of a combined arms army and a motorized rifle regiment active in southern Ukraine, “likely for failing to recapture areas lost during the Ukrainian summer-fall 2023 counteroffensive.” This is according to the US-based think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Russian sources reported on 13 and 14 April that the Russian military command dismissed Lieutenant General Arkady Marzoev, commander of the 18th Combined Arms Army (Southern Military District) fighting near Krynky in Kherson Oblast, along with the commander of the 70th Motorized Rifle Regiment (42nd Motorized Rifle Division, 58th Combined Arms Army, Southern Military District) engaged near Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Since September 2023, elements of the 70th Motorized Rifle Regiment have conducted periodic counterattacks around Robotyne to recapture territory, resulting in significant degradation of their forces.
Elements of the 18th CAA and the 70th Motorized Rifle Regiment have failed to reclaim all territories captured by Ukrainian forces in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts during the summer-fall 2023 counteroffensive. If Russian sources are correct, the Russian MoD may be replacing these commanders with the hope that new leadership can successfully seize more territory around Robotyne and Krynky. This could enable the Russian MoD to credibly claim a reversal of the Ukrainian counteroffensive’s effects, as per ISW.
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