Weeks After He Disappeared, Russian Commanding General Gerasimov Still Missing

Gerasimov has been Putin's go-to general since Ukraine invasion planning began. Though superseded several times by others, he has invariably re-emerged on top.

But several weeks ago, after a Ukrainian missile strike on a Russian command center in Crimea, he disappeared from public view. There were claims he had been killed - perhaps intentionally, perhaps because he was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Either way, the Kremlin has refused to comment, odd, as it leapt to prove the commander of the Black Sea Fleet was still alive after Ukraine bragged they had killed him. So was he actually killed and it's being hushed up because it's embarrassing. Or did the Kremlin decide to get rid of him? Their silence is generally considered an ominous sign. JL

B92 reports :

Gerasimov has not been seen in public for several weeks. "Gerasimov was at a command post near Sevastopol at the time of a (Ukrainian missile) attack, (and) was reportedly killed." While the question is whether Gerasimov is dead, his absence from the public and Moscow's silence about his current status are "interesting" as he is Putin's most trusted military adviser, (though)  Gerasimov's efforts have failed to produce the turnaround in the war that Putin demanded. Russian forces were repulsed at Bakhmut and Avdiivka, while the Black Sea Fleet was forced to abandon its headquarters in Sevastopol. "Continued silence in the Kremlin potentially speaks."Gerasimov was not seen in public for several weeks, raising suspicions that the general was dead.

Unverified rumors of his death began to circulate in the public after social media users shared a photo purportedly showing a message posted by a Russian Telegram channel.

"Gerasimov, who was at the command post near Sevastopol at the time of the attack, was killed in the attack on Crimea," the message states.

However, it was announced that the mentioned channel on Telegram did not exist at the time of the message's publication, but the fact that the Kremlin was silent all the time caused suspicion.

In an article titled "Where is General Gerasimov and why does it matter?" published last week in the Kyiv Post, retired US Army Colonel Jonathan Sweet and former economist Mark Toth wrote that while the question is whether Gerasimov is dead, his absence from the public scene and Moscow's silence about his current status are "interesting".

"It is strange that the Kremlin did not respond to the rumors that he was killed in Crimea, considering how far it went in denying the death of its commander Admiral Viktor Sokolov immediately after the missile attack on the Black Sea Fleet on September 22 last year. Continued silence in the Kremlin potentially speaks," they state in the text.

After the failed rebellion of the Wagner paramilitary group, it was noted that Gerasimov did not appear in public, state media and press releases.

The head of the "Wagner" paramilitary formation, Yevgeny Prigozhin, launched a rebellion and demanded the immediate dismissal of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Gerasimov. Shortly after the uprising, the ministry then released a video showing Gerasimov listening to a report, his first public appearance since the uprising.

Former Ukrainian journalist and military veteran Viktor Kovalenko claims that Putin sent Gerasimov to Ukraine to "ensure his victory".

Many believe that it was clear from the very beginning that Gerasimov did not have the support of the fighters of Wagner's group. Investigative journalist Hristo Grozev from "Bellingcat" published a video in which members of the group can be seen calling the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces a "s**t".

"You're a piece of shit. Where's the ammunition? We don't have any more grenades here," fighters on the front line in the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut address Gerasimov, according to the published video. Prigozhin repeatedly publicly accused him of mismanagement of the Russian army and the lack of ammunition for Wagner's fighters and even demanded his dismissal several times.

The Kyiv Post believes that Gerasimov's departure would certainly be a significant blow to Putin's special military operation in Ukraine, since he is, by all accounts, one of Putin's highest and most trusted military advisers.

The former officer who participated in the Second Chechen War, Syria and the incursions into Crimea and Donbass in 2014 was appointed by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu as Chief of the General Staff in 2012.

Seeking to regain his shaky position in Ukraine, Putin invited Gerasimov in January last year to replace General Sergei Surovikin, who had been commander of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine for less than three months. However, Gerasimov's efforts failed to produce the turnaround in the war that Putin demanded - Russian forces were repulsed at Bakhmut and Avdeyevka, while the Black Sea Fleet was forced to abandon its headquarters in Sevastopol.

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine announced that 368,000 Russian soldiers had been eliminated. It is significant that most of these victims took place during Gerasimov's time, the Kyiv Post reports.