15 November 2022, 16:08
Kadyrov's approval of troops removal from Kherson fits into his struggle for influence on Kremlin
The praise of Kadyrov and Prigozhin of General Surovikin for the withdrawal of troops from Kherson amid their earlier criticism of General Lapin for his similar actions near Liman is explained by "cynical intra-Kremlin squabbles" and the desire to influence President Putin, to whom Surovikin is close, political analysts believe.
Following Evgeny Prigozhin, a businessman, the head of Chechnya has supported the decision to relocate Russian troops from the right to the left bank of the Dnieper River in the Kherson Region, having praised Sergey Surovikin, commander of the United Grouping of Forces, for this. However, the withdrawal of militaries from there was given by Sergey Shoigu, the Russian Defence Minister, whom Kadyrov has harshly criticized, as well as General Lapin after the withdrawal of Russian troops from the city of Krasny Liman.
On October 8, 2022, General Sergey Surovikin, who during the Second Chechen War was in command of the 42nd Guards Motorized Rifle Division, was appointed commander of the Joint Grouping of Forces in the special operation area in Donbass. According to Ramzan Kadyrov, Surovikin will improve the situation in the military operation zone for the better for Russia.
Ruslan Kutaev, the president of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, believes that various groups are present at the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD), who are seeking to promote their interests, said. In Mr Kutaev's opinion, Surovikin was patronized by Prigozhin and Kadyrov; and they probably represent the same grouping with him.
Dmitry Oreshkin, a political analyst and professor at the Free Riga University, agrees that there is an influence grouping in the Kremlin, represented by Kadyrov and Prigozhin, which includes General Surovikin.
"Even if Surovikin loses everything, Kadyrov will continue praising him, while shifting the blame to the earlier bad command," Mr Oreshkin has stated.
In his turn, Alexei Malashenko, a political analyst, has treated the statements made by Kadyrov and Prigozhin as just opportunistic and not dictated by some far-reaching strategy.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 14, 2022 at 08:57 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Source: СK correspondent
