Disaster: This general killed more Russians than Ukrainians did. - RFU News

[TexasTowelie]

Today, there are interesting updates from Ukraine.

Here, one particular Russian commander has been skillfully navigating his way up the chain of command through positive reporting, moving all the way up to being in charge of all of Russia’s marine units. However, after nearly 4 years of killing more Russians than Ukrainians did, his latest disaster near Dobropillia caused an uproar among the military structure, one he finally could not maneuver himself out of.

The dismissal of General Sukhrab Akhmedov marks one of the clearest cases in which Russian battlefield losses were driven less by Ukrainian action than by self-inflicted command failure. Fired by Vladimir Putin personally from his post as deputy commander-in-chief of the Navy for Coastal and Land Forces, Akhmedov presided over some of the most catastrophic Russian offensives. Ironically, despite having been awarded the Hero of Russia title in 2025, public and internal military criticism over his latest disaster around Pokrovsk have finally made his position untenable, as it only compounded his previous failures throughout the war.

The final straw was the offensive toward Dobropillia that unfolded in several destructive phases and aimed at encircling Pokrovsk from the northeast. Initially, it relied on infiltration groups pushing forward and looking for a weakness to exploit to achieve a rapid breakthrough. While a shallow penetration was initially achieved, Ukrainian counterattacks quickly disrupted cohesion, forcing Russian units into improvised defensive holds. In the second phase, Akhmedov attempted to cling to these exposed footholds despite the absence of secure logistics. Ukrainian drones and artillery systematically dismantled remaining armor, while glide bombs and deep strikes prevented consolidation. Rather than disengaging, Akhmedov ordered continued mechanized assaults. Each subsequent wave featured fewer and less advanced vehicles, progressively weaker coordination between individual Russian assault groups, and unchanged routes, an invitation for Ukrainian FPV drones.

By late December, armored reserves were exhausted, and assaults devolved into attacks using civilian cars and quadbikes, which were annihilated just as efficiently. The final phase saw infantry advancing on foot across open ground and even effectively cavalry-style assaults, reflecting not adaptation, but the total collapse of mechanized capability in the sector. The decisive final attempt to save the Dobropillia offensive at the end of December involved four armored columns totaling at least 24 vehicles. The size of the formation proved fatal, as Ukrainian defenders spotted it early enough and destroyed it with FPV drones. The staggering number of losses near Dobropillia of nearly 21,000 killed and wounded Russians for 4 months sealed the fate of General Akhmedov.

This failure was not an isolated episode, in 2023 Akhmedov played a central role in the infamous Vuhledar offensive. There, Russian tanks were repeatedly sent uphill into prepared Ukrainian defenses. The initial phase saw armored columns advancing along narrow slopes without sufficient infantry or reconnaissance, funneling vehicles into kill zones. Ukrainian forces on higher ground exploited overlapping artillery, guided anti-tank missile teams, and drone surveillance to devastating effect. Over the course of the battle for Vuhledar, analysts estimate the Russian 155th Brigade lost 2,400 soldiers, constituting 80% of its pre-war strength, rendering it combat ineffective.

Akhmedov’s first major disaster occurred even earlier, during the October–November 2022 assault on Pavlivka, intended as part of a wider encirclement of Ukrainian positions near Vuhledar. The operation began with dense assault groupings advancing along predictable approaches, and minor gains quickly stalled under Ukrainian artillery fire. Instead of reassessing, Akhmedov committed additional companies in fragmented waves, without securing flanks or supply corridors. Within four days, more than 400 soldiers of the 155th Naval Infantry Brigade were destroyed. The backlash was so severe that soldiers publicly accused Akhmedov of incompetence in an open letter, an extraordinary breach of Russian military norms.

Despite this record, false reporting allowed Akhmedov to survive and even advance his career. Inflated success metrics and suppressed casualty figures masked his failures, enabling his return to senior roles after previous dismissals. That system finally broke at Dobropillia, as an entire armored grouping, assembled over months was obliterated over a front spanning less than 10 kilometers, without any justifiable success to show for it, leaving no narrative escape. When Russian assaults degenerated into attacks on horses...

[ChicagoTeamster]

1. This is such a disgusting waste of life. I definitely don't want the Russians to win but this is sickening.

They should be in open revolt back in Russia. Police are starting to refuse to arrest protesters. Hopefully the revolts will happen sooner rather than later. Russia has lost 1.6M troops so far in an area much smaller than all the places they fought in WWII.

How do they explain this to the general population?