- The White House mocked Putin's handling of the Ukraine war on Monday.
- NSC spokesperson John Kirby said Putin changes generals like "I change socks."
The White House mocked Russian President Vladimir Putin's handling of the war in Ukraine on Monday, pointing to the frequent turnover among the generals placed in charge of the ongoing invasion.
"Clearly Mr. Putin is not making good decisions," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. "It's borne out by the fact that he continues to change generals the way I change socks."
The war in Ukraine has not yet lasted a full year, but there's already a growing list of generals who've been tapped to spearhead Russian operations before getting fired or demoted.
—The Recount (@therecount) February 13, 2023
In April, Gen. Aleksandr Dvornikov was given the top job in Ukraine. Dvornikov lasted until June, before being replaced by Gen. General Gennady Zhidko,who was also only the top commander for a matter of months. Putin then tapped Gen. Sergei Surovikin for the job in October, but he ultimately replaced him with Gen. Valery Gerasimov, Russia's highest-ranking military officer, in January.
"It's kind of like a reality TV show," Colin H. Kahl, the under secretary of defense for policy, said to reporters last month while speaking on the shuffle among Russian generals in Ukraine. "And I think it's more indicative that the Russians have still not figured it out about how they intend to command the fight, and I think the dysfunction among Russian commanders is pretty profound," he added.
When the invasion began last February, Russia was initially expected to easily defeat Ukrainian forces. But the war has been disastrous for Russia on multiple levels. Though estimates vary, Russian forces are believed to have suffered as many as 200,000 casualties so far, and they've made few gains in the process.
Russia has begun a new spring offensive in eastern Ukraine, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said, but Kyiv's forces have been bracing for this fight. Putin appears willing to continue throwing bodies at the front line — even if it means sending them in poorly trained and ill-equipped — in hopes of eventually wearing out Ukrainian forces.
Putin is "sending thousands and thousands of more troops, accepting a very high rate of casualty, taking big losses, but putting pressure on the Ukrainians," Stoltenberg said, adding, "What Russia lacks in quality, they try to compensate in quantity."
The NATO chief went on to underscore that Russia's willingness to endure high casualties is indicative of the need for the West to supply weapons to Kyiv at a faster pace.
"The faster we can deliver weapons, ammunition, spare parts, fuel to the Ukrainian front the more lives we save, and the better we support efforts to find a peaceful, negotiated solution to this conflict," he said.
NATO countries have provided Ukraine with billions in military aid, including vital weapons, since the war began. But some NATO allies have been reluctant to send more advanced arms to Kyiv, such as long-range weapons that could potentially strike deep into Russian territory, worrying about the potential for the conflict to escalate. But there are also Western leaders and officials who say that Ukraine should be provided with what it needs to win the fight, contending that there would be reverberating consequences for the world if Putin was victorious.