Russian war propaganda has a weak point: Vladimir Putin's hot blood. The speed with which the Russian president strikes down the high command of his army every time the Ukrainian forces regain ground with some of their counter-offensives makes it impossible to minimize the successes of his rival. And there are already a few. Not in vain, the Kremlin has already relieved the five generals of the four military districts and of the airborne forces that led the invasion of Ukraine at the beginning -at the end of February-. The last one, Colonel General, Alexander Lapin.
As confirmed by British intelligence, Lapin's sudden dismissal earlier this week is a direct consequence of the advances of the kyiv forces on the battlefield. And that, who was commander of the Russian forces in Syria, has added resounding victories to his resume such as the capture of the Luhansk region in early July. An achievement that earned him the honor of being decorated as "hero of Russia", but which has not freed him from Putin's latest outburst.
The key to this change of opinion by the Russian president lies, as reported by Rob Lee, an analyst of the Russian army at King's College London, in the fact that Lapin would support the theses of the chief of staff Valery Gerasimov, and the defense minister, the General Sergei Shoigu. All of them are at odds with Russian nationalist sectors that demand a more aggressive offensive as they are visibly dissatisfied with the progress of the war.
In parallel, the Russian military expert Vladislav Shurigin has reported that the troops commanded by the Kremlin are increasing attacks in eastern Ukraine, in an attempt to retake the initiative on a front that has been stabilized for months, while tensions grow. in the south by the approach of Ukrainian troops to Kherson.
"We are gradually taking back the initiative, which in September was in the hands of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who were attacking and looking for our weak points," Shurigin said.
According to the analyst, "Ukrainians are forced to defend themselves and seek solutions to this situation" and calculates that at the end of November the Russian troops will launch a major offensive
