Analysts: Airborne Forces Commander Removed From Post In Russia

Purges among officers continue.

Commander of the Russian Airborne Forces Colonel-General Andrey Serdyuko was removed from his post due to huge losses in the ranks of Russian paratroopers who fought near Kyiv.

This has been reported by the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), in particular, referring to the post of press secretary of the Odesa Regional Civil-Military Administration Serhiy Bratchuk, who said that Serdyukov's dismissal was being discussed in informal groups on social media.

It is known that Serdyukov probably led the operation to seize the Crimea in 2014, and later, from April to September 2019, headed the Russian military group in Syria. In January of this year, he led the CSTO contingent brought into Kazakhstan to suppress anti-government protests, Novoye Vremya writes.

“If these allegations [about the removal of Serdyukov] are true, then Serdyukov was blamed for the low efficiency and high losses among the Russian airborne units, especially during operations in the first weeks after the large-scale invasion near Kyiv,” ISW notes.

Analysts add that subsequent dismissals and possible internal purges of senior Russian officers are likely to further exacerbate the already poor Russian command and control capabilities, as well as undermine the confidence of Russian officers.

It is reported that current chief of staff of the Central Military District Colonel-General Mikhail Teplinsky, a native of the Donetsk region, was allegedly appointed to replace Serdyukov.

Teplinsky was born in 1969 in Mospin, Donetsk region. He served in the 106th Guards Airborne Division. In 1992-1993 he participated in the liquidation of the conflict in Transnistria. In 1994-1995 he participated in the First Chechen War. In 1995 he was awarded Hero of Russia. Since 2017, he has been appointed Chief of Staff of the Southern Military District. Since 2019, he has headed the headquarters of the Central Military District.