Generals to the trenches! What should be done with Soviet military leaders, and how will they perform in combat?

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, believes that Ukrainian generals should be in the trenches. If a general is sitting solely in headquarters, he is not a general, regardless of age or experience.

"A general who has not been in the trenches is not a general to me. With all my respect, today the most challenging situation is at the front line, in the trench. Generals must be in the trenches. That's the kind of war we have," the head of state stated.

According to him, a new approach to conducting military operations is outlined in the second point of the internal "Resilience Plan." This point changes the management strategies of the army, and the primary task for Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi will be to reduce bureaucracy.

Bridging the gap between general and soldier and minimizing bureaucracy will be facilitated by transitioning to a "corps-brigade" system, Zelensky added.

While most senior military officials are stationed in headquarters, far from the frontline, Western media point to significant staffing issues within the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). The mobilization situation is expected to become "irreparable" by spring, reports The Economist.

There are very few volunteers to join the military, and given the forceful recruitment methods, the needs for personnel are barely met by two-thirds of the target. Those who come to serve are mostly too old or unmotivated men. Journalists cite the example of a partially blind 51-year-old worker from the Poltava region named Hryhoriy. He was as surprised as anyone when he was enlisted.

"Hryhoriy is accustomed to handling firearms. Anyone can shoot. However, hitting the target is not something he does very well," the publication quotes him.

Will NATO re-certification help Soviet generals?

In the Armed Forces of Ukraine, there is often a discrepancy in approaches to conducting military operations at the operational and strategic levels. According to Ukrainian serviceman Danylo Yakovlev, this occurs because most military leaders are unwilling to evolve and do not study modern military trends.

The serviceman believes it is necessary to re-certify all generals and senior command of the AFU according to NATO standards to assess their knowledge in light of advanced military technologies and combat tactics. Contract service officers are required to be proficient in English. Meanwhile, the generals tend to overlook this requirement.

Yakovlev cites issues with military logistics as an example. The company "Nova Poshta," in his assessment, meets the needs of the AFU far more effectively than the internal logistics service.

"This is complete absurdity. I don't understand why we can't hire a manager from 'Nova Poshta' to build an excellent system for the military? The answer is simple: it’s not beneficial for someone. An aging general sees it differently; he has been sitting in his position for years, earning a salary of at least 200,000 hryvnias, not counting earnings from tenders, and knows he won't be fired or punished. We lack mechanisms for punishment from colonels to generals," the serviceman admits.

Yakovlev believes that generals should be sent more frequently on assignments to brigades at the front line rather than to rear units.

Loyalty to power: how generals are made in Ukraine

"A vivid example is the Bakhmut operation. Former Commander-in-Chief Zaluzhnyi insisted on withdrawing prepared units, but there was political expediency — 'fortress.' And no combat experience of the leadership will help here," he explains.

In the case of rear generals, it is first necessary to clarify their numbers and functions, as well as determine their efficiency coefficient. The expert emphasizes that before sending older generals to the trenches, it is essential to understand how this will address specific combat tasks.

"Commanders of companies or platoons can force soldiers to raise their bayonets. The general staff, if they are professional and capable, should plan active defense and offensive operations, rather than rushing into battle to the beat of drums," he concluded.

Ukrainian Major General Dmytro Marchenko claimed at the end of October 2024 that the front in Donbas has "collapsed." Among the reasons he cited were a lack of ammunition and personnel.