After horrendous battlefield losses and failed targets, Vladimir Putin is concentrating his efforts in Ukraine within the japanese provinces of the Donbas. Recognizing that neither his authentic plan for a blitzkrieg in opposition to Kyiv nor his plan for a number of operations within the north, south and east labored, Russia’s president appears prepared now to embrace longstanding rules of conflict: simplicity, unity of effort and centered logistics. No extra adventurous airborne operations in opposition to airfields. No extra stymied convoys or simultaneous however separate assaults on Kharkiv, Mariupol and Sumy. No extra disputes amongst commanders over logistical resupply. Reasonably, the Russians will pursue a single coordinated effort with, initially, more-limited aspirations within the Donbas.
Unity of command has lengthy been acknowledged as an indispensable prerequisite for victory. Battlefield instructions will not emanate from the Kremlin or Moscow however from a discipline headquarters. Mr. Putin’s latest appointment of Gen. Aleksandr Dvornikov to command all forces in Ukraine is according to the precept of unity of command. It’s additionally worrisome. In contrast to Protection Minister Sergei Shoigu, a politician-cum-general, and Gen. Valery Gerasimov, apparently the designer of the unique assault plan for Ukraine, Gen. Dvornikov shouldn’t be a employees officer in Moscow. He’s a seasoned fight veteran with earlier duty for operations in Chechnya, Crimea and Armenia.
