Russian generals were killed due to a weak chain of command during their invasion of Ukraine, Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, said at a hearing on Tuesday.
Berie told Senator Tom Cotton that between eight and 10 Russian generals had been killed since the fighting began in late February. The head of the DIA said earlier in the hearing that he said the lack of non-commissioned officers or non-commissioned officers in Russia had led to a crash that forced senior military leaders to take to the front lines.
NCOs, often used in the United States military, are essentially career sergeants who serve as corps leaders. They play a significant role in transferring the experience and knowledge gained to newer troops.
But Russia has not invested in a strong corps of non-commissioned officers, which Berie said may have contributed to the deaths of Russian generals.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s generals are dying due to a bad chain of command, Lieutenant General Scott Berry said on Tuesday. Above, Berie can be seen testifying before the Senate. Win McNamee / Getty Images
Cotton asked if the lack of a non-commissioned officer corps “suggests that these generals must move forward to ensure that their orders are carried out in a way that General Berier should never have moved forward if he had been in combat command because he could to rely on captains and lieutenants and Sergeant Barriers to carry out his orders. “
Berie agreed with a simple “yes.”
Earlier in the hearing, Berie cited the lack of a trained non-commissioned officer from Russia as a factor that stood out for him during the fighting, which he currently describes as a “stalemate” between highly motivated Ukrainian forces and Russia’s much larger military machine. .
“What was the most interesting evolution for me when I watched Russian forces make mistakes is actually the lack of a non-commissioned officer corps,” he said. “When I think about the tactics of the small units and how this developed between Ukraine and Russia, I think the non-commissioned officer corps is a big part of it. And I think the Ukrainians are almost right.
Earlier, Newsweek compiled a list of Russian generals killed by mid-April. Among them are General Magomed Tushaev, Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky, Major General Vitaly Gerasimov, Major General Andrei Kolesnikov, Major General Oleg Mityaev, Lieutenant General Andrei Mordvichev and Lieutenant General Yakov Rezantsev.
Berie is not the only prominent military figure to mark the loss of Russian generals.
James Stavridis, a former NATO commander-in-chief for Europe, said in early May that “there is no situation comparable to the deaths of generals”, which shows the “astonishing incompetence” of the Russian military.
In general, Russia has largely failed to complete the rapid takeover of Ukraine that the Kremlin initially hoped for due to unexpected resistance from the Ukrainian people. In more than two months of fighting, the Russian military has faced many setbacks, including what British intelligence has described as “unsustainable” losses.
Newsweek asked the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment.
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