President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that he does not plan to make any personnel changes to Russia’s General Staff following the ouster of longtime Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu earlier this week.
General Valery Gerasimov will appear to maintain his position as chief of Russia’s General Staff, the central organ of command of the country’s armed forces, despite the ongoing government shakeup as Putin assumes his fifth presidential term.
Since Gerasimov reports directly to the Russian leader, the move signals that incoming Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, an economist and former first deputy prime minister, will have little influence over day-to-day decisions on the battlefield in Ukraine.
“As for the General Staff and the entire structure that ensures combat operations, there are no changes here and no planned changes,” Putin told a meeting of top generals, which included Gerasimov, Belousov, and his predecessor, the new Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu.
“I want this to be clear to everyone,” he added.
President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that he does not plan to make any personnel changes to Russia’s General Staff following the ouster of longtime Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu earlier this week.
General Valery Gerasimov will appear to maintain his position as chief of Russia’s General Staff, the central organ of command of the country’s armed forces, despite the ongoing government shakeup as Putin assumes his fifth presidential term.
Since Gerasimov reports directly to the Russian leader, the move signals that incoming Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, an economist and former first deputy prime minister, will have little influence over day-to-day decisions on the battlefield in Ukraine.
“As for the General Staff and the entire structure that ensures combat operations, there are no changes here and no planned changes,” Putin told a meeting of top generals, which included Gerasimov, Belousov, and his predecessor, the new Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu.
“I want this to be clear to everyone,” he added.
