According to British intelligence, Russia has dismissed top commanders who are thought to have done poorly during the early phases of the Ukraine invasion. Vladimir Putin is alleged to have fired two of his military commanders for the failure to conquer Kharkiv and the loss of the Moskva, Moscow's flagship.
Lieutenant General Serhiy Kisel, commander of the elite 1st Guards Tank Army, and Vice Admiral Igor Osipov, commander of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, have both been suspended.
Russian Commanders Fired by Vladimir Putin
Meanwhile, Russian Chief of the General Staff Valeriy Gerasimov is expected to keep his job, although it's uncertain whether he "retains President Putin's confidence," according to intelligence, Mirror reported.
Two Ukrainian missiles hit the 510-crew missile Moskva cruiser, dealing Russia a huge military damage. Putin's country continues to deny that scores, if not hundreds, of missing servicemen on the ship, died when it drowned on April 14.
Kharkiv fell early in the conflict, although Russian soldiers have recently abandoned the territory surrounding the city. As it pushed in on Kyiv, invaders across the nation were forced to radically modify tactics after trying to acquire a central stronghold.
The battle between Russia and Ukraine has already lasted more than 80 days, with the Ukrainian military claiming to have killed up to 28,000 men since the conflict began. Meanwhile, Ukraine's Ministry of Defense's Defence Intelligence said on Wednesday, 18 May, that Russian armed units have been "increasingly refusing" to carry out instructions from leadership to launch active offensive operations in Ukraine.
According to Ukrainian Defense Intelligence, certain troops of the 70th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment have "already publicly rejected" to engage in the fight. According to Ukraine, Russian soldiers have refused to participate in the conflict and have asked to be repatriated to their regular bases. It went on to say that Russian military commanders have been striving to conceal soldier disobedience, as per the Republic World.
US Report Claims Russia Fears Ukraine Will Backfire
Meanwhile, a US official familiar with the newly disclosed findings told CBS News Wednesday that some Russian officials are worried that Russian soldiers in the destroyed port city of Mariupol are committing grave human rights violations.
Russian officials are fearful that the abuses would backfire, inciting the people of Mariupol to fight Russian rule. The Russians, who were not identified, were also concerned that the atrocities would undermine Russia's claim that they had freed the Russian-speaking city, according to the US official, who was not allowed to discuss publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
According to the intelligence report, the abuses include assaulting and electrocuting local officials as well as looting residences. As some of the last Ukrainian fighters in the shattered city withdrew from the damaged Azovstal steelworks, the fresh intelligence was declassified and given by a US officer. The warriors were forced to flee the final stronghold of resistance in the now-flattened port city by their troops, and they now face an uncertain fate.
Hundreds of fighters have remained in the final bastion of resistance in the ruined city for months, despite the relentless bombing. The city has been reduced to ruins and has witnessed some of the war's most ferocious combat.
After a Russian bombing of a maternity hospital on March 9 and a week later on a theater that was acting as the city's main bomb shelter, the coastal city drew global attention. To dissuade an assault, the word "CHILDREN" was written in Russian on the sidewalk outside the theater.
According to some estimates, about 600 people were slain inside and outside the theater. The scope of the probable abuse revealed by the US intelligence assessment is unknown, but it comes on the heels of significant human rights violations in and around Bucha and Kyiv suburbs.
