The battlefield is a mirror, some commanders can be among the top commanders with courage and superb leadership skills, while some commanders who have no real skills are staged a drama of incompetence and exhaustion of the three armies, and today's protagonist is a typical representative of the commander of the waste wood, the former commander of the 20th Army of the Russian Army, Major General Sukrab Akhmedov.
Major General Akhmedov
Born in 1974, Akhmedov graduated from the Novosibirsk Higher Military Command School in 1996, began military service in Novosibirsk, and in 2005, graduated from the Frunze Military Academy in Moscow. Akhmedov served as the commander of the 29th Separate Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 36th Army, after which in 2009 he became the commander of the 155th Separate Marine Brigade of the 155th Army.
155th Brigade of the Marine Corps
Akhmedov's ability to command was also questioned during his tenure as commander of the 155th Separate Marine Brigade, which took part in the Battle of Vuhledar after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022. Vuhledar is located at the intersection of the eastern front of the Donetsk region and the southern front of the Zaporizhzhia region, and the Ukrainian army has been using it as a base to harass the Russian army to supply goods on important railway lines, and has long been a thorn in the side of the Russian army.
Russian tanks destroyed in the Battle of Vuhledar
The Russian commander made some common-sense mistakes, inaccurate intelligence on the strength of the Ukrainian army, and sent the 155th and 40th naval infantry brigades to a frontal charge in open terrain covered with anti-tank mines, which led to heavy losses.
Ukrainian troops
On February 13, 2023, a Russian soldier from the 3rd Company of the 155th Brigade said that 500 soldiers were killed or wounded in an attack, and he was one of only eight survivors of his 100-man company. On February 15, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said that more than 1,000 Russian soldiers had been killed or wounded in just two days, and that the entire 155th Brigade had been effectively "annihilated." The Ukrainian military announced that the Russian 155th Naval Infantry Brigade was almost completely destroyed, and Russia lost 130 armored vehicles, including 36 tanks.
Offensive units of the Russian army
This estimate is supported by drone footage reviewed by independent Russian military analysts and descriptions by Russian military bloggers who, while supporters of the war, have sharply criticized the incompetence of Russia's top commanders. After the Battle of Vuhledar, the 155th Marine Brigade sent a letter to the Governor of Primorsky Krai accusing the commander of the Eastern Military District Muradov and the brigade commander Akhmedov of incompetence in command, and that they did not hesitate to send their soldiers to death in vain in order to earn the title of Hero of Russia, and the letter read: "General Muradov and his brother-in-law, compatriot Akhmedov, have once again thrown us into an incomprehensible battle in order to give Muradov a bonus in order to create a good image in the eyes of (Chief of the Russian General Staff Valery) Gerasimov".
Armored forces of the Russian army
The surviving Marines complained that poor military leadership was the cause of the huge losses. In December 2022, there was public information that Akhmedov could be removed from office as a result. After these rumors broke, Russia's top command denied accusations of inadequate leadership and failure, and Novaya Gazeta reported that they had information that Akhmedov might rise instead of falling.
Ukrainian Army Hippocampus rocket artillery
Shortly thereafter, Akhmedov was promoted to major general and appointed commander of the 20th Army, and this was the real beginning of the tragedy. Russian sources reported that in June 2023, a division of the 20th Army was attacked by Ukrainian Hippocampus rockets while assembling near Kremina for two hours to wait for Akhmedov to deliver an inspirational speech, with about 200 casualties (100 dead and 100 wounded). Russian military bloggers harshly criticized this, even saying that such a commander must be shot, although the name was not mentioned, but it was known who the commander of the 20th Army was.
Artillery units of the Ukrainian army
In May 2024, a prominent Russian military blogger reported that Akhmedov had been removed from his post as commander of the 20th Army, and the Russian Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said, "It is not possible to confirm that Akhmedov has been removed, but the news about his removal is worth paying attention to, because this is the first time in the latest round of dismissals that an officer has been removed from his post, who is Russia's active commander in Ukraine." ”