Military bloggers reveal Russia sacks general in charge of operations in Syria
Russian military bloggers say the Russian Defense Ministry has fired the general in charge of its forces in Syria, after rebels stormed Aleppo.
According to Reuters on December 2, Russian military bloggers said that Russia fired Sergei Kisel, the general in charge of Russian forces in Syria, on December 1, after Syrian rebels flooded into the city of Aleppo, becoming one of the biggest challenges to President Bashar al-Assad in years.
Russia is a key ally of President Assad, Reuters reported. The removal of General Kisel, 53, was reported by the Rybar Telegram military blog channel – which is close to the Russian Defense Ministry – and blogger Voenny Osvedomitel.
Unconfirmed reports say General Kisel will be replaced by Colonel Alexander Chaiko.
Military bloggers have been sharply critical of the performance of Mr Kisel, who previously commanded Russia’s 1st Guards Tank Army in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, where Russian forces were pushed back in a lightning counterattack by the Ukrainian army in late 2022.
“It is clear that he was supposed to reveal his hidden talent in Syria, but something got in the way,” military blogger Voenny Osvedomitel said.
Rybar commented: "A change of approach is needed. Syria has long been a place to wash away the reputation of unsuccessful generals who are in fact truly incompetent in the area of special military operations."
Rybar channel also predicted that Russia could even transfer General Sergei Surovikin - a famous general who was in charge of the Ukrainian front, to Syria.
Rebels, an alliance between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham - a former al Qaeda affiliate in Syria - and Turkish-backed armed groups, launched a surprise attack on the city of Aleppo last week after eight years of being driven out.
Rebels quickly took control of Idlib and most of Aleppo with little resistance. They are continuing their advance towards Hama.
In his first comments since the rebels launched a lightning offensive, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Syria would continue to "defend its stability and territorial integrity.
"With the help of allies and friends, Syria is capable of defeating and eliminating the opposition no matter how fierce their attacks are," he asserted.
