While Russia has just launched a vast mobilization campaign, Moscow has announced that it has replaced its army general, the highest ranking officer in charge of logistics in the country. Dmitry Bulgakov thus leaves his place of Deputy Minister of Defense to Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev.
Russia announced on Saturday the replacement of its highest ranking officer in charge of logistics, at the dawn of a vast mobilization campaign and while the offensive in Ukraine showed difficulties in terms of organization. “Army General Dmitry Bulgakov was relieved of his duties as Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation due to his transfer to another post,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement, without giving details. details.
Mizintsev, already sanctioned by the West
He was replaced by Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, who until then headed the National Defense Control Center, and will now be the Deputy Minister of Defense “responsible for the material and technical supply of the armed forces”, according to the same source. Aged 60, Mikhail Mizintsev has held many positions of responsibility within the general staff during his long military career. He is targeted by Western sanctions for his role in the siege of Mariupol, a port city in southeastern Ukraine conquered in May by Russian forces at the cost of significant destruction.
This change in the general staff comes as President Vladimir Putin announced this week the mobilization of hundreds of thousands of Russians to give new impetus to his offensive in Ukraine. This mobilization represents a major organizational challenge, requiring reservists to be summoned to the four corners of an immense territory, to equip them, to send them to training centers and then to the front. However, the military intervention in Ukraine has brought to light significant difficulties in terms of logistics, with analysts pointing to these shortcomings as one of the reasons explaining the difficulties encountered by Russian troops from the start of the offensive.