Moscow: Russian war bloggers reported on Sunday that Moscow has dismissed Sergei Kisel, the general overseeing its forces in Syria, following a major insurgent advance into Aleppo, marking the most significant challenge to President Bashar al-Assad in years.
As a key ally of Assad, Russia's leadership shake-up was highlighted by the Rybar Telegram channel and the Voenny Osvedomitel (Military Informant) blog, both of which have ties to the Russian defense ministry. The Russian defense ministry has not publicly commented, and Reuters has sought confirmation. Russia has conducted numerous undisclosed military leadership changes since the onset of the Ukraine conflict.
Unverified reports suggest Kisel will be replaced by Colonel General Alexander Chaiko. The military blogs harshly criticized Kisel, who previously led Russia's 1st Guards Tank Army in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, where his forces suffered a decisive counterattack by Ukrainian troops in late 2022.
Voenny Osvedomitel remarked, "He was expected to reveal his hidden talents in Syria, but once again, something went wrong." Rybar criticized Russia's strategy, stating, "The Syrian theater has long been a ground for rehabilitating the reputations of generals who proved ineffective in Ukraine." It even speculated that General Sergei Surovikin—nicknamed "General Armageddon" for his brutal tactics in Syria—might be reassigned despite his recent demotion and alleged ties to a Wagner Group mutiny.
The recent insurgent offensive in Aleppo marks the first such advance since 2020 when a Russia-Turkey ceasefire paused hostilities in northwest Syria. On Sunday, the Syrian army announced it had retaken several towns captured by rebels, who include a coalition of Turkish-backed secular groups and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist faction and the opposition's most potent force.
Aleppo has been under government control since a decisive 2016 campaign in which Russian-backed Syrian forces besieged and devastated rebel-held eastern parts of the city, solidifying one of the Syrian war’s key turning points.