West believes Vladimir Putin micro-managing war in Ukraine at 'brigadier' level: Report

Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin is personally vested in Moscow's war to a level that he is making tactical decisions and micro-managing movement of the Russian troops in Ukraine, Western military intelligence believes. According to media reports, Putin is operating the war "at a level of a colonel or brigadier" alongside Russian Commander of Armed Forces General Valery Gerasimov, in contrast to Kyiv's claims that the commander was sidelined. "We think Putin and Gerasimov are involved in tactical decision making at a level we would normally expect to be taken by a colonel or a brigadier," the western military official told The Guardian, under conditions of anonymity.

The official also claimed that Putin is guiding the movement of Russian troops in the East Ukrainian Donbass region, where the invaders faced a massive falter last week. "If Putin is doing the job of a brigadier commander then he could be delving into a force that could be as small as 700 to 1,000 soldiers," he added. The information comes as last week Kyiv claimed that Putin had sidelined General Gerasimov and taken matters of Donbass operations into his own hand.

A former brigadier in the British Army and expert at the International Institute of Strategic Studies, Ben Barry, last week also projected a similar assessment. "The government should have better things to do than make military decisions. They should be setting the political strategy rather than getting bogged down in day-to-day activity," he mocked. His remarks came after Russian troops last week failed to cross the Siverskyi Donets river at Bilohorivka, which led to the destruction of over 70 Russian vehicles. Further, they also lost one battalion worth of military equipment, an aerial photography assessment revealed, as per The Guardian. The Institute for Study of War (ISW) had called the defeat a rare sign of internal dissent.

Russia escalates shelling in east and west Ukrainian cities

In the past 24 hours, Russia has increased shelling in the eastern and western frontline positions. The invading troops have aggravated missile attacks on Severodonetsk, the easternmost city of Ukraine in Luhansk Oblast. At least 10 people have been killed in the arbitrary strikes, said Serhiy Haidai, Governor of the Luhansk region. He added that Ukrainian forces have also repelled at least 17 attacks and destroyed 11 Russian vehicles.

On the other hand, Russian troops on Monday night shelled Yavoriv in Lviv city, just 15 km from the Poland border. Governor of Lviv, Maksym Kozytskyi, in a Telegram post stated that overnight a Russian missile hit the Yavoriv regional branch of the Lviv railway, inflicting severe infrastructural damage. He added that Ukraine's air defence shot down three cruise missiles last night, Kyiv Independent reported. Noting the developments in the Ukraine war, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that Russia has "likely resorted" to an increasing reliance on "indiscriminate artillery bombardment due to a limited target acquisition capability and a willingness to risk flying combat aircraft routinely beyond its own frontlines."

(Image: AP)