According to media reports, Russian President Vladimir Putin fired a top-ranking general only 16 days after appointing him following his crushing defeat in eastern Ukraine.
The Russian President is thought to have relieved Lieutenant General Roman Berdnikov of his duties as a result of Kremlin troops’ failure to hold vast swaths of Ukrainian territory in recent days, according to the Daily Mail.
Ukrainian forces have advanced to within 30 miles of the border, despite reports that ‘panicked’ Russian troops are abandoning tanks, weapons, and supplies.
There have been claims from some sources that Russian soldiers have “literally ran from their positions”, Even their clothes were left behind as they fled the advancing Ukrainian army in the Kharkiv oblast in the country’s north-east, according to the Daily Mail.
It came as Ukrainian soldiers surged into the country’s east, capturing more than 1,000 square miles of territory in a matter of days in what could prove to be a watershed moment in the war.
The move followed a sustained Ukrainian ‘disinformation campaign’ about a southern counter-offensive, which succeeded in diverting Russian troops in that direction and leaving the north east vulnerable to attack, according to the Daily Mail.
Lt General Berdnikov was appointed commander of Ukraine’s Western Armed Forces on August 26, according to the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
However, it appears that his time in charge was brief, with Ukrainian intelligence reporting that he was fired by Putin due to the rout in Kharkiv. There has been no official confirmation from the Kremlin.
This followed unconfirmed reports in June that he had been killed during fighting in Ukraine’s Donbas region.
As Russian troops scrambled to get clear of oncoming forces in recent days, one Ukrainian unit claimed the chain of command had been broken and Kremlin troops were fleeing without even attempting to fight back, according to the Daily Mail.
