According to Global Network , on October 8 local time, local time, Russian Ministry of Defense issued an announcement that Russian "Southern" cluster commander Su Luoweikin was appointed as the joint cluster commander of the Russian Special Military Operations Zone Force. Previously, after the Battle of North Donetsk and Lisichangsk, Russia established four clusters in Ukraine, namely the eastern, southern, central and western regions. The "clusters" are second only to the military region in the regulation of the Russian army, and the Russian army's special military operation area refers to Ukraine. The appointment of the Russian Ministry of Defense on October 8 marks that all Russian troops in Ukraine will be under the command of Sulovikin in the future.
This is the first time that the Russian army has established a joint cluster commander in the Ukraine special military operation after setting up four major clusters in Ukraine. This time, the Russian army established a joint cluster commander to improve the lack of unified coordination among the clusters and fight independently. This means that all Russian troops in Ukraine obey Sulovikin's orders.
Sulovijin was appointed to the verge of danger and faced a very difficult situation. It is worth noting that in April this year, the US intelligence department said that President Putin may soon appoint a general as commander-in-chief of the Russian army in Ukraine. An important background at that time was that in the early days of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the Russian army entered Ukraine from multiple directions to fight. However, at the beginning of the war, Russia did not establish a unified commander in Ukraine. It was basically commanded by the Russian Ministry of Defense and the General Staff, which resulted in the lack of coordination between the Russian army fighting in all directions and was basically in a state of fighting on their own. Therefore, it became imperative to establish a Russian commander-in-chief.
At that time, the US intelligence agency had set his sights on Sulovigin, the commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces at the time. However, Putin later appointed the commander of the Southern Military Region Dvolnikov to serve as the commander-in-chief of the Russian army in Ukraine, with the main attack direction of Donbas .
This time, Sulovikin served as the commander-in-chief of the Russian Army in Ukraine, which was completely different from the situation when Dvolnikov was appointed before. Sulovikin can be called a task in danger. Compared with Dvolnikov, the situation in Ukraine he faced is too complicated and difficult.
Since the Ukrainian army launched a counterattack in Kharkov, the Ukrainian army has made rapid progress and has successively recovered many towns such as Kupiyansk, Ijium , and Chongliman. In the Donbas Battle that started in April this year, Ijium and Hongliman are familiar towns, especially Hongliman. The Russian army and Ukrainian army fought a long and fierce battle here, and the Russian army also officially captured Hongliman and successfully took a detour from the north to attack the urban agglomeration with Rubiznoye, North Donetsk and Lisichangsk as the core.
and Ijium was an important supply line when the Russian army launched an attack in the Luhansk area, so it is obvious that the next target of the Ukrainian army after recapturing Ijium and Chongliman is the Luhansk area. However, unlike the previous situation, the Russian army changed from the previous attacking side to the defending side.
As the Russian army suffered a defeat in the Donbass region in the eastern region, there was also a change of generals within the Russian army. The commander of the Western Military Region and commander of the Central Cluster Alexander . The leveling general was dismissed.
And Russian Defense Minister Shoigu is also facing tremendous pressure. Chechnya leader Kadyrov once accused the Russian Ministry of Defense of the command chaos. The deputy administrative head of the Khlsong area even publicly demanded that Shoigu should "drink a bomb and commit suicide", which shows that the situation on the battlefield has reached a critical state.
In addition, although Crimea and the four places in eastern Ukraine have completed the "referendum to Russia", these places are facing different problems. Crimea, the earliest "entering Russia", has suffered frequent disasters recently. On the same day Sulovikin was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Russian army in Ukraine, a violent truck explosion occurred on the Crimea Bridge , which connects Russia's mainland and Crimea Peninsula , and the bridge deck was directly blown off. If combined with the previous explosion at the Russian military base in Crimea, this shows that the situation in Crimea has also become very unstable.
. The four eastern Ukraine, which have just completed the "referendum to Russia", have their own problems. Khlsong Prefecture and Donetsk Prefecture have some territories under the control of the Ukrainian army. The capital of Zaporoze, the capital of Zaporoze, , is even under the control of the Ukrainian army. The capital of the Russian-controlled Zaporoze can only be tentatively set in Melitopol. Originally, the situation in Luhansk Oblast was the best, but as the Ukrainian army continued to approach Luhansk, the situation in the state became very critical.
So Su Luoweijin was appointed as the commander in the face of danger. He himself shouldered the ardent expectations of Putin and Shoigu, not only to defend the current Russian-controlled area, but also to find ways to expand the controlled area to the constitutional area.
Suluvijin once participated in the "819 Incident" and has rich combat command experience, but whether the situation can be reversed remains to be discussed
So can Suluvijin complete this difficult task? Sulowijin's resume is a good reference.
Sulovikin is the first and only Army general in Russian history to serve as commander of the Aerospace Army. Born in Novosibirsk City in 1966. In 1987, he graduated from the Omsk Higher Synthetic Command School and entered the Soviet Army to serve. He graduated from the Fulongzhi Military Academy in Moscow in 1995, and then served in the 201 Mofan Division of Tajikistan, and was later promoted to Chief of Staff of the 201st Mofan Division. He has served in the army since 1983. He participated in the armed conflict in Tajikistan , the Second Chechnya War , and Russia's military operations in Syria , and won the Russian Hero Star.
Sulovijin is known for his firm completion of his mission in the army. During the 1991 "819 Incident", Surovikin firmly implemented the instructions of the National Emergency Committee to restore order in Moscow at that time. After Yeltsin took power, Surovikin was imprisoned. This is the first time Sulovijin was arrested in his military career. He was sentenced to one year in prison for assisting with "arms sales" in 1995, but it was not executed. In 2012, he was re-sinned by the court.
In March 2017 and January 2019, Sulovikin was twice appointed as the commander of the cluster in Syria, with rich command experience.
After the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Sulovikin also entered Ukraine to fight, especially in the battles of North Donetsk and Lisichangsk. After command, he and La Tai finally completed control of the Luhansk region.
Judging from Su Luoweijin's resume, he is one of the few senior generals of the Russian army with practical experience. Moreover, he also has experience in "cross-border" positioning and was once the commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces, which makes Su Luoweijin have comprehensive command capabilities in land and air, which is very beneficial for the joint air-ground combat. However, judging from the performance of the Russian Aerospace Forces in the battles of North Donetsk and Lisichangsk, it remains to be seen whether Sulovigin can fully play the combination of the Russian army's land and air.
What is more noteworthy is that unlike the army it encountered before, the Ukrainian army has real-time intelligence support from the West and a large number of foreign mercenaries support, so Su Luoweijin has a long way to go.
