Apparently the situation has really turned bad for Putin. As soon as the head of the military resistance against the Ukrainian offensive in Kursk is appointed the former presidential bodyguard, who served in the army for exactly ... 1 year.
What just a few days ago seemed like a conspiracy theory or disinformation is starting to look like the script for a classic thriller. According to data from a number of channels in “Telegram” the Russian military deliberately ignored information about the preparations of the Ukrainian army to enter the Kursk region. The goal was to take revenge on Putin for the mass arrests in the generals and to show him that it depends on the generals. But is this another information battle being fought in the “fog of war”?
Putin's order turned into chaos
After Putin appointed the coordinator of the so-called “counter-terrorist operation“ in the Kursk region his former security guard Alexei Dyumin, the gossip on the Internet began to resemble the truth. Suddenly, as in June last year during the Prigozhin tumult, the curtain on the generally banal secrets of the Putin regime was lifted. But what are these secrets?
First, regardless of the very unfavorable development of events in the Kursk region, the Kremlin is still afraid to announce mobilization. The Ukrainian army claims that under its control are over a thousand square kilometers of Russian territory, but even if it were 500, this is still an advance on Russian land. But in response, the Kremlin launched the half-forgotten mode of “counter-terrorist operation” - it seems that we are not talking about an advance and penetration into the territory of at least two Ukrainian brigades, but about something much smaller.
During this time, the possibility of hiring prisoners against amnesty in Russia is almost exhausted. The recruitment of mercenaries from the countryside is apparently also slower than a year ago – people lost the will to make contracts after the many burials, the number of seriously injured and the missing. In the big cities, there is more clarity regarding the war, and therefore there are almost no people who want to go to the front. The authorities fear mass riots and protests that could follow the mass mobilization. Therefore, it is necessary to rely on the conscripts, who have been poorly prepared, trained and motivated since Soviet times. And against them are the well-motivated and combat-experienced Ukrainian soldiers and officers equipped with Western weapons. Judging by the news from the front, the results of this confrontation are very disappointing for the Kremlin.
The second “secret“ is the bureaucratic chaos, judging by the mass “evacuation” of the inhabitants of the Russian border regions. In addition, the almost complete silence of the army generals and the special services can be seen from under the curtain. The rare cheerful reports on television of the Chief of the General Staff Gerasimov do not count – these are selected lies for the masses, not real reports. In principle, the “counter-terrorist operation” it should be led by the head of the FSB, Alexander Bortnikov, and not a word is heard about him. Why was the position of "coordinator" invented? of the operation?
General Dumin, the general's son
This brings us to the third “secret”: it seems that the situation at the top is really starting to get bad for Putin. As soon as the former presidential bodyguard is appointed as the leader of the military resistance to the well-planned and thought-out offensive of the Ukrainian units. Alexey Dyumin, who is the son of an influential general of the medical service and a graduate of the radio engineering military school, has been wearing epaulettes for 30 years. But his actual service in the armed forces, as can be read in his published biographies, was ... exactly one year after school.
Dumin Jr. has served in the Federal Security Service since 1995. Rising through the ranks, he became Putin's head of security and personal aide-de-camp. For several months, he was also the head of special operations of the GRU and thus worked for the annexation of Crimea in 2014. But it is clear that this was a political appointment – Dyumin most likely ensured Putin's control over the actions of the GRU. He was also the Chief of Staff of the Ground Forces when he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General. And according to rumors, in 2021, by a secret decree of Putin, he will also become a colonel general. At that time he was the governor of the Tula region.
Among the personnel military, such a rapid career “at the cost“ of the armed forces can evoke nothing but hatred. People with such biographies in the army are usually called “floor generals”. However, Putin is sending him to save practically the whole idea with Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelensky dealt her the most powerful blow. Because even one square kilometer of Kursk Oblast would be a legal subject of exchange for all Ukrainian lands occupied by Putin.
And two conclusions from the situation
Dumin's life is shrouded in a fog of unnecessary mystery – which is most likely just covering up the particularly close relationship between the boss and his former bodyguard. If Dyumin was indeed appointed to command in the Kursk region, then two conclusions can be drawn from this situation. The first: 25 years of Putin's regime have led to personnel degradation of the senior officer corps. The second: Putin has so little confidence in the army generals that he is forced to put his ex-adjutant over them. The most interesting – which is indicative of the system established in Russia that these two conclusions do not contradict each other at all.
This comment expresses the personal opinion of the author and may not coincide with the positions of the Bulgarian editorial office and of DV as a whole.