Vladimir Putin has fired six generals for moving too slowly in his Ukraine war, British defense chiefs said this weekend.
They dismissed as “deliberate disinformation” a statement by the Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu that the pace of the military campaign had been intentionally slowed down.
They also noted that a missile attack on a train on Wednesday in Chaplyne in eastern Ukraine, highlighted the “willingness of the Russian military to cause collateral damage when it perceives there is a military advantage” when launching an attack.
In its last update intelligence, the Ministry of Defense in London said: “On 24 August 2022, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told the Shanghai Cooperation Organization that Russia was deliberately slowing down its military campaign in Ukraine, driven by the need to reduce civilian casualties.
“It is almost certainly deliberate misinformation. Russia’s offensive has stalled due to poor Russian military performance and fierce Ukrainian resistance. Under Shoigu’s orders, forces operating in Ukraine have repeatedly missed planned operational deadlines.
“It is very likely that Shoigu and President Putin have fired at least six generals for not making enough progress. fast enough”.
The report added: “On the day Shoigu was speaking, a short-range ballistic missile scope SS-37 Russian Iskander hit a train in the town of Chaplyne, reportedly killing at least two children.
“This highlights Russia’s willingness to cause collateral damage when it perceives there is a military advantage in launching missile or artillery attacks.”
The ground campaign of Russia has stalled in recent months after its troops were repelled from the capital kyiv in the first weeks of the invasion, but fighting continues along front lines to the south and east, which are practically paralyzed.
Russia said its forces attacked a train station in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday and killed 200 Ukrainian servicemen, confirming an attack that kyiv says killed 25 civilians as the nation celebrated its Independence Day.
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