Russian leadership has restructured elements of its military command and operations in Ukraine, according to a report by *The Wall Street Journal*.
President Vladimir Putin appointed the head of a new drone warfare unit and shuffled several other commanders as Moscow attempts to revitalize its military campaign. The changes come as the pace of the Kremlin’s advances slowed during the summer to what analysts describe as the lowest level in recent years.
Despite criticism from military bloggers and successful Ukrainian counterattacks that have pushed Russian forces from key positions, Putin maintains that Russian troops are continuing to advance across the front line. During a recent appearance alongside Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, the Russian president refrained from public criticism and praised military performance.
According to *The Wall Street Journal*, Russia has yet to achieve a major strategic breakthrough. Russian forces have made incremental gains in the eastern Donbas region, slowly approaching the Ukrainian-controlled cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
Data from the research organization Black Bird Group indicates that Russia’s territorial gains this summer were among the most limited since the conflict began, coinciding with Ukrainian counteroffensives in other sectors.
Michael Kofman, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, stated that the initiative previously held by Russia is now being challenged by Ukraine.
“The Russian military mistakenly believed that by continuing to push through the front, they would eventually achieve their goals,” Kofman said. “Instead, they are getting diminishing returns at great cost, and the offensive has largely stalled. Changing commanders at the top will not fix this.”
The recent command changes did not introduce many new personnel to the upper echelons of the military leadership, instead reassigning existing commanders. Observers note this reflects a preference by Putin to avoid the public dismissal of senior officers for poor performance.
The report also highlights that Russia lags behind Ukraine in the deployment and development of effective drone technologies, an area where Kyiv receives support from Western funding and engineers. While Moscow is working to recruit more drone operators, it faces ongoing difficulties in matching the pace of technological development.
With the front line remaining largely static in recent months, both sides have increasingly focused on long-range strikes deep into each other’s territory. However, analysts like Kofman suggest these bombardments are unlikely to alter the fundamental situation on the battlefield.
In a related development concerning military supplies, Andriy Chernyak, a representative of Ukraine’s military intelligence, stated that a North Korean missile unit has begun deploying in western Russia. The unit is reportedly expected to be equipped with 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers for strikes against Ukraine.
Article and image source: unian.net
