Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) may have tried to cover up the recent removal of the acting commander of the Southern Military District (SMU), Colonel-General Gennady Anashkin, following accusations in the news space that subordinates he was fed false reports on the progress of the front. On November 23, Russian bloggers reported that Anashkin was suspended for the reasons stated.
This is what the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) writes in another analysis of the hostilities in Ukraine.
Russian state broadcaster RBC reported that a Russian Defense Ministry source acknowledged Anashkin's dismissal, but that it was due to a "planned rotation" and praised his military achievements.
For bloggers, the removal of Anashkin is good news, as it may lead to improvements for the soldiers at the front, that the Russian Minister of Defense Andrei Belousov begins to intervene in military management, and not only in administrative and economic reforms in the Ministry.
Ukrainian military denied allegations of North Korean personnel presence in Kharkiv region - amid new reports that "technical advisers" operate in occupied Mariupol. CNN, citing an anonymous Ukrainian security source, reported on November 22 that the advisers had arrived, were conducting maintenance operations and were separated from Russian military units, despite wearing Russian military uniforms. It is believed that the North Koreans are waiting for weather conditions to deteriorate to conduct assault operations.
Ukraine's Kharkiv Group of Forces denied reports of the presence of North Korean personnel in the Kharkiv region and said the spokesman quoted in the CNN report was not an official spokesperson of the Kharkiv Group of Forces and was commenting on the situation outside of his responsibilities.
"Reuters" reported on Nov. 23 that a large portion of North Korea's 11,000 troops in the Kursk region were still completing military training.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia currently does not need mobilization because it is recruiting enough volunteers under contract. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law on Nov. 23 allowing Russian soldiers who fought in Ukraine to write off loans of up to 10 million rubles (about $95,869) if Russian courts begin debt collection proceedings before Dec. 1, 2024.
This is likely to incentivize the Russians to sign contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD).
The Russian government remains concerned about the economic cost of continuing the war in Ukraine, particularly in compensating Russian soldiers. Russia's Defense Ministry submitted a draft law on Nov. 22 that would oblige Russian soldiers to return their one-time payments from signing Russian military contracts if they commit a "serious disciplinary violation" or try to avoid military service.
It is reported that former commanders of the private military company (PMC) of the group "Wagner" have formed a new unit called the "Wagner Legion". Russian bloggers reported that former commanders of the Wagner group with the callsigns "Rusich", "Kap", "Ratibor", "Marx" and "Radimir" lead the new unit.
Bloggers claim that "Wagner" already training new fighters. The Russian Ministry of Defense tried after the death of its former financier Yevgeny Prigozhin to distribute the remaining personnel to various Russian military formations. The degree of obedience of the legion "Wagner" is not clear.
The head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, announced in April 2024 that Commander Alexander Kuznetsov (call sign "Ratibor") would join the Chechen special forces "Akhmat" with 3,000 personnel and will be subordinate to the Russian Ministry of Defense.