Who is Valery Gerasimov, Russia's new military commander in the Ukraine?

The new general in charge's seniority reflects the war's growth and the necessity for better organisation and leadership.

The chief of the general staff of Russia, Valery Gerasimov, 67, has been chosen by the defence minister of President Vladimir Putin to head the country's conflict in Ukraine.

Since Russia invaded in February, a number of senior leadership transfers have occurred, but this one was the most striking.

Poor performance

A large number of nationalist war bloggers who are authorised by the Kremlin to express their disapproval of the way the war is being fought have attributed Gerasimov's failure to subjugate his much smaller neighbour to the superpower military's alleged 15-year modernization and expensive reequipment.

The Russian military forces are criticised for being inexperienced, inadequately trained and equipped, sluggish to respond, and divided by disjointed and sometimes far-flung command systems in Ukraine, the West, and even within Russia.

Rumors of Gerasimov's demotion had been circulating for months following the failure of an impromptu mobilisation effort to shift the tide in Russia's favour. Gerasimov was virtually unknown to the general public.

Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of the southern Russian republic of Chechnya, and Yevgeny Prigozhin, the creator of the Wagner Group contract militia, have both voiced veiled critiques of Gerasimov while outright claiming military victories for their own, ostensibly superior, semi-autonomous forces.

Russia frequently performs poorly in the beginning of conflicts, according to supporters of the defence ministry, and many of the issues that emerged in supplies, technology, and command over the last 10 months have been or are being fixed.

What does it mean for the battlefield?

The seniority of the commander in charge of the "special military operation," according to the defence ministry, is a reflection of the operation's increased size and the requirement for better organisation and leadership.

Army General Sergei Surovikin, formerly the theatre commander and known by the codename "General Armageddon," Army General Oleg Salyukov, and Deputy Chief of the General Staff Colonel-General Alexei Kim will serve as Gerasimov's deputies.