- The Western military says Vladimir Putin is making low-level military decisions in Ukraine.
- The Guardian and The Sunday Times reported that the president was dictating the movement of troops in Donbass.
- “This is not a good way to wage war,” Simon Miles, an expert on Russia, told Insider.
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Russian leader Vladimir Putin is increasingly committed to a low-level military strategy amid Russia’s ongoing failures in Ukraine, according to media reports.
Western military sources told The Guardian and The Sunday Times this week that the Russian president was making operational and tactical decisions.
An employee used an Amazon analogy to describe the situation to The Times: “Jeff Bezos doesn’t deliver your parcels, he makes strategic decisions.”
In particular, Putin has played an important role in determining the movement of troops in Donbass, where the Russians have suffered several setbacks in the past week after numerous failed attempts to cross a strategic river, sources said.
Officials also said Putin was still working closely with General Valery Gerasimov, the commander-in-chief of Russia’s armed forces, despite claims by Ukraine earlier this month that the top general had been removed after growing defeats.
The Pentagon declined to comment on the reports, and the UK Department of Defense did not respond to Insider’s request for comment.
According to Simon Miles, an assistant professor at Duford University’s School of Public Policy and a historian of Soviet and US-Soviet relations, Western officials who suggest Putin is “micro-managing” Russia’s military efforts will be backed by precedent.
“Involving people at the highest level at the tactical level is not uncommon in the way the Russian military is fighting,” Miles told Insider. “Whereas this is (and is called humiliating ‘micro-government’) in the context of the United States.”
It is common for officers in the Russian armed forces to “shape events” by escorting their troops directly to the battlefield, Miles said. Gerasimov himself even did it earlier this month in Izyum. But sending high-ranking officials to the front line is the main reason Russia has lost so many generals since the start of the war.
Major Russian military decisions must be directed up the chain of command, often to a high-ranking officer, before they can be implemented, Miles said. When approval is given, the situation on the ground can look very different.
“It’s not a good way to wage war,” Miles said. “This has not been the most effective military culture for a long time, but it helps us understand the poor performance of the Russians on the battlefield.”
Professional soldiers in Western armies are trained to find opportunities to carry out their orders based on changes in the position or readiness of the enemy, or the contours of the battlefield – critical knowledge lost by a political leader far from the front.
Two days before Putin launched his invasion in late February, the president issued a sinister diatribe in which he denied Ukraine’s statehood and sovereignty, falsely claiming that the country was part of Russia’s historic territory.
In the months since Russian troops entered Ukraine, it has become increasingly clear that Putin’s personal vendetta against Ukraine and its people played a huge role in the start of the war.
“I think this is inevitable [Putin] is entering micromanagement because it’s very much his war, “Miles said.” We know more and more that this whole thing is planned by a very small group, with Putin at the center. “
The Times reported that military sources believe that Putin’s heavy hand in military operations could contribute to Russia’s failures. But Miles said Russia’s struggles could be traced back.
“Yes, low-level decision-making by the president probably contributes to tactical failures now, but more importantly, it is the reason for the huge strategic failure in the first week.”
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