Putin Appoints New Commanders For Special Military Operation; Poland And UK Promise To Provide Much-Needed Tanks To Ukrainian Army

Russian President Vladimir Putin has changed the command structure of the Russian Special Military Operation (SMO).

General Valery Gerasimov, Chief of General Staff, was appointed as the overall commander of the SMO, reported The Guardian.

General Sergei Surovikin, who was earlier appointed as the commander of the army, will stay on as a deputy of Gerasimov, the Russian Defence Ministry said.

The latest changes come after the operation in Ukraine has come to a grinding halt. It is only this week that the Russians claimed their first major success in the battlefield after months.

The situation on the Soledar front is fluid on the other hand. While the Russian Private Military Company head claims to have captured the city, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denied the claim saying “the fighting is still going on”.

Meanwhile, in a positive development for the Ukrainian military, Poland has announced the transfer of a company of German-built Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. A company might include a dozen or 14 tanks, reported Forbes.

The Forbes report also says that the United Kingdom (UK) is mulling over providing Challenger-2 heavy tanks to Ukraine. The report also states that the numbers might grow as multiple European countries are thinking to donate more tanks to Ukraine.

Germany has already announced the donation of the Marder Infantry fighting (IFV) vehicle to Ukraine while the US government has announced donating 50 M-2 Bradley IFV to Ukraine.

However, Germany, the largest economy in Europe, has been reluctant to provide tanks to Ukraine.

Although these military supplies will help the Ukrainian forces plug gaps in the battlefield, the Ukrainian President has urged “NATO to do more than just promise Ukraine its open doors, and said Kyiv needs powerful steps as it tries to join the military alliance”.

On the other hand, the Russian President in a televised meeting said that “the situation in Ukrainian regions was difficult in places”, and Russia had all the resources needed to improve life in the four Ukrainian regions.