1. Commander of the Russian offensive in Ukraine
The news fell on Wednesday January 11: General Valéri Guerassimov, Chief of the Defense Staff since 2012, was appointed commander of the Russian offensive in Ukraine. He replaces General Sergueï Sourovikine, demoted to the rank of deputy, who only directed operations for barely three months. “The rise in the level of command of the special operation [en Ukraine] is linked to a broadening of the scope of the missions to be accomplished, to the need for closer interaction between the components of the armed forces”the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
“Putin is ready to go after Ukraine”, according to historian Françoise Thom
2. Lifelong Military
Born in Kazan, in western Russia, Valéri Guerassimov did all his training in the Russian army. Now 67, he graduated from the Kazan Armored Troops Higher School in 1977 and from the Armored Troops Military Academy ten years later. He then took the reins of an armored regiment, before returning to the infantry. As commander of the 58th Russian army, based in the North Caucasus, he took part in the second Chechen war. Then led Russian army maneuvers in Crimea in 2014, in Donbass in the process and then in Syria. One “military to the core”to use the phrase of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Delivery of tanks to Ukraine: the (more or less disinterested) reasons for Macron’s reversal
3. “Guerasimov Doctrine”
It is a misunderstanding that will remain as his greatest success. In 2013, he gave a speech in which he assured that the “line between times of war and peace had become increasingly blurred” and that the “non-military means to achieve strategic objectives had gained in importance”. With these words, he became the inventor of the “hybrid warfare” Russian: a clever mix between the use of conventional weapons and non-military methods, such as disinformation or cyberattacks. Only, the inventor of this term is not Valeri Guerassimov but the British specialist in Russian military questions Mark Galeotti, indicates France 24.
4. Putin’s Trust
As chief of staff of the Russian armies, Valéri Guerassimov took part in the poor preparation of “special military operation” in Ukraine. But that wouldn’t have affected his relationship of trust with Vladimir Putin, says ” The world “. “Putin is looking for an effective tactic in the context of latent defeatnotes political scientist Tatiana Stanovaya daily. He tries different figures, oscillates between them, gives his chance to the one who seems convincing to him at a precise moment. Today, Guerassimov seemed convincing to him, tomorrow it could be another. But in reality, the problem lies in the tasks to be performed, not in the men. » He has been warned.
In Moscow, the Russians face the vertigo of war: the great report by Emmanuel Carrère
5. Rebalancing with Wagner
Another problem of Sergei Surovikin, his predecessor, was his good relationship with the Wagner militia. In particular, he had authorized the arrival of paramilitaries to support the conventional army. Still today to lead the “bloody” battle of Soledar (in eastern Ukraine). And the leader of Wagner, Evgueni Prigojine, a close friend of Putin, does not hesitate to highlight the work of his troops, even if it means tarnishing that of the army. The arrival of Valéri Guerassimov therefore sounds like a desire for rebalancing by the army. The victory awaited for several months at Soledar must be perceived as that of the army. At the risk of having to leave his place too.
