A Russian commander visited the front to change the course of the offensive

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine – Russian Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Valery Gerasimov, the country’s highest uniformed officer, visited dangerous frontline positions in eastern Ukraine last week, in an effort to “change the course” of the weaken Russia’s offensive in the area. , according to a senior Ukrainian official.

Two U.S. officials with knowledge of the visit also backed up that analysis.

Ukrainian officials learned of the visit, the Ukrainian official said, but not in time to catch Gerasimov.

When Ukrainian forces launched an attack on a position visited by Gerasimov, at School No. 12 in the Russian -controlled city of Izyum on Saturday night, he left for Russia.

However, some 200 soldiers, including at least one generaldied, said the Ukrainian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military operation.

The two U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential intelligence assessments, confirmed that Gerasimov had been in eastern Ukraine for the past two days but had no information about the attack on the Russian base.

The Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“Our working assumption is that he is there because there is recognition that he is still there. they did not resolve all their problems, ”said one of the officers.

The presence of such a high official in the front is serious not ordinary And it comes amid what Western military analysts describe as growing unrest within Russian forces.

Despite dramatically reduced targets, Western officials and analysts say Russia’s military continues to struggle. logistics and coordination problems to his troops, while faced with continued intense resistance from the Ukrainians.

Izyum, a medium -sized city in eastern Ukraine, became the base of operations for the Russian military as it launched an offensive aimed at seizing the two eastern Ukrainian territories bordering Russia that make up the region known as Donbas.

The successful takeover represents a consolation prize for the Kremlin, after a embarrassing departure from the region around the Ukrainian capital, kyiv, which, according to US intelligence analyzes, Russian leaders expect to fall within days after the invasion.

But even in the east, progress is slow.

Captured by Russian forces incremental revenuess, every day, capturing some villages and losing others, while tightly entrenched Ukrainian troops clashed with a unconditional resistance.

Gerasimov sits to the right of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and he was one of only three people, along with Putin and the defense minister, primarily in charge of charting the course of the war from its inception.

This strict hierarchy that defines Russia’s military leadership is one reason why Western analysts say that Russian forces often seem not adaptable rapidly changing conditions on the battlefield.

For more than a month after the war began, Russian forces did not have a battlefield commander who could guide action from within Ukraine, leading to poor coordination between the various units and service that contributed to deaths of thousands of soldiers.

It also resulted in the deaths of 10 or more generals who moved to front-line positions to try to resolve the mess.

Early last month, the Kremlin finally appointed an experienced commander, Alexander Dvornikov, accused of ordering airstrikes against civilian neighborhoods in Syriato manage ground forces in Ukraine.

U.S. officials said Gerasimov’s secret visit to the eastern front highlighted the problems facing Russian forces in the Donbas.

“It probably means the trend is not good for the Russians,” Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., Who is on the House Armed Services Committee and former Army Ranger, in a telephone interview. from Poland after visiting Ukraine on Saturday with Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“Thousands have been killed in action, troop morale is low and, very significantly, their offensive to the south and east seems to be stopping,” Crow said.

Gerasimov had been in eastern Ukraine for a few days and arrived on Saturday at School No. 12, used as the base of Russia’s Second Combined Arms Army, as well as airborne forces deployed in the region, senior Ukrainian officials. said. .

According to preliminary information gathered by Ukrainian forces, Major General Andrei Simonov, who was among the base commanders in Izyum, was killed in the attack.

“The decision to destroy this object was not made because of Gerasimov, but because it is an important base of operations,” the official said.

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