MOSCOW / KYIV
Valery Gerasimov, the Chief of the Russian Army, has recently gained an additional title being appointed as the commander of military operations in Ukraine. But should he be happy about it?
Valery Gerasimov was born in Kazan, a Turkic-majority city, in southwest Russia. As the top general, he is seen as one of President Vladimir Putin’s favourite commanders, having kept the top job in the army for more than a decade.
The general is well respected. A whole new military strategy has been named after him – Gerasimov doctrine. It’s an approach based on modern hybrid warfare, in which military capability is strategically combined with diplomatic, psychological, technological, economic and communication elements to take on the enemy.
Back in 2014, with the swift occupation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, Gerasimov doctrine enjoyed widespread recognition, receiving much praise from the Russian political and military establishment.
But the devastating 11-month-long war against Ukraine has once again pushed Gerasimov to the front.
As an army chief, he was already the centre of the war but now he’d be on the ground among his soldiers. Since February when Russian troops marched into Ukraine, Gerasimov has kept profile away from international scrutiny.
That’s unlike Volodymyr Zelensky who – at least in official photos and handouts – has visited frontlines to boost the morale of Ukrainian soldiers.
In an unusual decision, last week, Russia’s defence ministry appointed Gerasimov to personally lead the forces in Ukraine.
“In modern warfare, the physical presence of the highest ranking military office on the battlefield is exceptional,” says Ulas Pehlivan, a former Turkish military officer and a security analyst. Because today’s conflicts’ hybrid nature empowered by advanced technology ensures real-time battle management capabilities, military leaders do not necessarily need to be on the ground, according to Pehlivan.
