Ukraine claims that Vladimir Putin has fired the commander of his airborne forces due to the war’s high casualties, which are now estimated to number in the thousands.
Colonel-General Andrey Serdyukov, 60, is said to have paid the price for’mass casualties’ among paratroopers.
The speculation comes after a Russian source said that the country’s total losses in Ukraine were close to 50,000, far more than most other estimates.
According to unconfirmed Ukrainian sources quoted by Odessa military-civilian spokesman Serhiy Bratchuk, Putin has replaced Serdyukov with Colonel-General Mikhail Teplinsky, 53, the current chief of staff of the Central Military District and a Donetsk native.
Following the Bucha tragedy, Britain sanctioned Serdyukov for having Ukrainian blood on his hands.
If his axing is true this ‘would indicate that Serdyukov is being held responsible for the poor performance of, and high casualties, among Russian [airborne] units, particularly in early operations around Kyiv.
![The reported sacking would indicate that Serdyukov is being held responsible for the poor performance of, and high casualties, among Russian [airborne] units, particularly in early operations around Kyiv](https://i0.wp.com/i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/06/18/16/59231441-10929999-image-a-82_1655564510929.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)
‘Continued dismissals and possible internal purges of senior Russian officers will likely further degrade poor Russian command and control capabilities and the confidence of Russian officers.’
Serdyukov has not been removed from power, according to Moscow. He has been named a ‘Hero of Russia,’ the country’s highest honor, and is regarded as one of Russia’s most capable military minds.
He commanded the operation to annex Crimea from Ukraine in the spring of 2014, according to Izvestia, and he is said to have taken part in the Pristina airport stand-off with NATO peacekeeping forces in 1999 as a 37-year-old, when Russia troops rushed the airport during the Kosovo war that nearly triggered world war three.
Putin has only revealed a fraction of the numerous changes he has made among commanders since the war began on February 24.
However, according to multiple sources, Putin is personally micromanaging war decisions and axing commanders who he perceives as underperforming, in this case commanders responsible for losses in early airborne operations surrounding Kyiv.
On February 24, in the early hours of the embryonic war, Russian Airborne Forces (VDV) elite troops launched an assault on Antonov Airport near Kyiv, with the goal of capturing it and utilizing it as a staging area for an assault on the Ukrainian capital.
The operation did not go to plan, with the Ukrainians counterattacking the initial foothold and surrounding the VDV soldiers who were unsupported by heavy weapons.
These soldiers, some of Putin’s most highly trained, were systematically destroyed by Ukrainian defenders, who operated with greater numbers and far more competence than the Russians had anticipated.
The following day, a second attack brought more airborne troops and ground forces from Belarus, who were able to capture the airport, which had been damaged beyond repair.
According to the Telegram channel General SVR, the total number of Russian soldiers killed in the Ukraine conflict is currently 37,592.
The program also mentioned the claimed casualties of 9,457 fighters from private military groups supporting the Russian combat effort.
It further stated that the Russian national guard, which reports directly to Putin, had suffered 1,788 losses.
The program claimed that these data had been personally conveyed to Putin, but provided no proof. This assertion could not be independently verified.
If correct, it would mean overall military losses of 48,837. It contrasts with other figures which suggest Putin has lost in excess of 30,000 troops.
As Russian losses have mounted, Putin has been increasingly relying on conscripts to fill the ranks, with locals in occupied Donbas saying their men are being ‘kidnapped’ and forced into service.
Conscripts are being used as ‘cannon fodder’ in battles against their own countrymen, with limited equipment, antiquated weapons, and little training, according to Kyiv’s men.
Locals press-ganged into Russia’s ranks are being dispatched on’suicide missions,’ according to Serhii, a Ukrainian soldier injured in the Donbas, so that Kyiv’s forces will shoot at them, revealing their locations to observing drones and neighboring artillery guns.
Separatist forces who appeared to be ‘high on something’ rushed towards Ukrainian positions in front-on attacks without body armour or tank assistance, and were slain ‘like pieces of meat,’ according to him.
Kyiv has admitted suffering devastating losses of up to 200 men killed every day in Donbas, largely victim to overwhelming Russian artillery barrages, but insists that Moscow’s forces are being similarly decimated.
The losses have seen Putin’s forces lose 54 confirmed colonels in Ukraine – a shocking toll that probably underscores the true scale of losses among these high ranking officers.
Putin has also lost at least 11 generals in his war so far.