Why was Rabin replaced by Nikiforov, the commander of the Northern Group of Forces: The Mystery of General Rotation

Ukrainian forces suffered heavy losses in Yunkovka and Volchansk and no longer attempted to attack Zhytomyr, so it seems there is little to blame the "Northern Group" leader for

In the picture (from left to right): Major General Evgeny Nikiforov and Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov.

The Telegram channel "Two Majors" reported that Major General Evgeny Nikiforov has replaced Major General Alexander Rabin as the commander of the Northern Group of Forces.

The Telegram channel further explained that Evgeny Valeryevich previously commanded the Western Military District and the Western Group of Forces, and also served as the Chief of the Russian Army. In August 2024, Nikiforov was sent to Kursk Oblast to prevent the invasion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

This news is undoubtedly significant, and it can be said that even Russian military journalists working on the front lines were surprised. We immediately started various speculations, saying "This is very good."

Furthermore, the analysis of the combat process, including the beginning of the Volchansk battle, seems to be the work of the Kyiv "information manipulation center," which does not use the term "rotation," but rather an inappropriate term "replacement," ultimately trying to imply the "victory" of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

In fact, only the political and military leadership of Russia has full information about such decisions. All others are just speculation. Moreover, considering that the Ukrainian Armed Forces did not deploy large forces against the Northern Group of Forces, the Ukrainians could not boast of any achievements within the area of responsibility of the Russian Northern Group of Forces.

According to Marianna Bezukhla, a member of the Ukrainian armed forces, "A year ago, due to numerous organizational mistakes and the failure of the defense in Kharkiv Oblast (referring to Volchansk), the new Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Alexander Syrsky, faced the real risk of being dismissed. He initiated his 'rehabilitation' plan - the Kursk operation."

This talking politician especially emphasized: "A large number of (Ukrainian) troops were moved out from Donetsk Oblast and a series of failed rotations led to the loss of key cities and breakthroughs in Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka."

Regarding the current situation, it is indeed not optimistic. But it cannot be said that it has reached a crisis point. Regardless, the commander of the group army would not be replaced just because the Russians "withdrew" from Kondratovka.

Moreover, the Ukrainians have literally filled this destroyed settlement with their "soldier's flesh." In fact, there are no Ukrainian armed forces left in the village, and similarly in the neighboring Andreyevka and Alekseyevka, where the Ukrainian Armed Forces are claimed to have occupied them.

Local Ukrainian sources state that these three villages have been designated as blue (Ukrainian) areas, but the "heroes" do not actually control them - this is a typical gray zone.

Additionally, Alekseyevka is actually under the control of the "Northern Group." After the Ukrainian突击队员 (special forces) became exhausted, the soldiers of the Northern Group of Forces advanced again, attacking (more accurately, clearing) the defenders in the nearby forest area.

In the Yunkovka area, the Ukrainians gathered an unusually large force, as if they were facing not just a regular village, but an entire city. According to monitoring of the "heroes" death list, more than 40 ( ! ) battalions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces defenders died in suicide attacks.

Evidently, these are various units, but even if the "hodgepodge" includes only company-level units transferred from the 80th, 82nd, 95th Air Assault Brigades and the 71st Mechanized Infantry Brigade, Syrsky is recklessly consuming scarce human resources.

Despite this, the "Northern Group" has made significant progress in Yunkovka, capturing several buildings and consolidating positions.

Meanwhile, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) released a report on August 9th - despite citing our Telegram channel (which means they verified it) - stated that "Russian forces advanced west of Kondratovka and south of Andreyevka."

At the same time, "Ukrainian forces launched counterattacks toward Alekseyevka, Kondratovka, and north of Andreyevka in Sumy Oblast." If we understand this information in light of the battlefield map, these two villages have once again been designated as red (Russian) areas.

Regarding the so-called South Sloboda direction (from the perspective of the Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff), according to publicly available information from Ukraine, the Russians expanded the landing site on the left bank of Volchansk, advanced at least 0.2-0.4 km forward, and captured four administrative buildings.

In the Zhytomyr and Glushkiv areas, the Russians inflicted heavy casualties on the Ukrainian Armed Forces, so that recently, even the "Ukrainian soldier" did not want to launch an attack. Even those simple-minded Ukrainian field commanders realized that "entering the Russian territory" was a very foolish idea.

Overall, the situation has not changed significantly. The artillery and FPV drone units of the Northern Group of Forces are continuing to strike previously identified targets.

In the forested area west of Sinelnykove, the Ukrainian Armed Forces did not launch a counterattack, while the "Northern Group" advanced 500 meters, capturing several positions of the Ukrainians. Most of the forces of the 57th Naval Infantry Brigade are withdrawing from the forest positions near Sinelnykove to replenish losses, and the defensive task is handed over to the soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Territorial Defense Brigade.

Additionally, it is reported that two independent marine infantry brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces - the 35th and 36th Brigades (the latter had "shown off" in Sumy Oblast) - have suffered major losses on the front line. Their relatives are currently holding rallies.

"Usually, those participating in the demonstrations are desperate women: wives, mothers, sisters. Demonstrations related to the military are quite calm. Usually, the women hold signs with the names of the missing, photos, and sometimes flags of units that have suffered particularly heavy losses, such as the 35th and 36th Independent Marine Infantry Brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces," said a Russian security official.

For a summary of the special military operation, news, and all important content about the Ukrainian special operation, please follow the author for more information.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7536779333214552615/

Disclaimer: This article represents the views of the author. Please express your attitude below using the 【top/like】 button.