Putin fired top admiral for insubordination because he opposed sending men from his Pacific Fleet
Vladimir Putin has reportedly fired a top admiral for refusing to send his sailors to fight in the war against Ukraine.
Admiral Sergei Avakyants, 66, was suddenly relieved last week of the role of commander of the Russian Pacific Fleet during nuclear bomber war games on behalf of the Kremlin.
According to Volya and Brief Telegram, Avakyants has been trying to protect his men from deployment – to keep them from becoming cannon fodder.
The admiral had repeatedly resisted or subverted orders to send his men into Ukraine to fight.
When forced to do so, he allegedly sent his most undisciplined and unreliable men to the war zone.
Admiral Sergei Avakyants, 66, was suddenly relieved of the role of commander of the Russian Pacific Fleet last week
Avakyants tries to protect his men from deployment
”He told Admiral Nikolay Yevmenov [Commander-in-Chief of the Navy] in plain language that he wouldn’t let the fleet be ruined — his sailors, trained officers, well-coordinated crews, wouldn’t be torn apart,” a source in the Russian Armed Forces General Staff said.
He was especially angry about the losses of his elite marines who had been forced to go to Ukraine.
Footage in February shows the 155th Brigade being defeated at Vuhledar.
“Thirty-one armored vehicles of the 155th Separate Guards Marine Brigade of the Russian Pacific Fleet were destroyed during an attack on Vuhledar,” the then military broadcaster Moscow Calling reported.
Earlier, Marines from the 155th Brigade wrote a letter complaining about the meat-grinding tactics of Putin’s commanders in Ukraine, which left “300 men killed, wounded and missing” in four days of heavy fighting in Pavlivka.
The admiral had repeatedly resisted or subverted orders to send his men into Ukraine to fight
From left to right – Vladimir Putin, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Commander of the Pacific Fleet Admiral Sergei Avakyants pictured in 2016 in Russia’s Far East
The “admiral’s dissatisfaction grew” as the magnitude of the losses increased, it was claimed.
Recently, Avakyants defied Kremlin orders and said he would not send any more troops as long as he was in charge of the Pacific Fleet.
He objected to the demand to send “infantry formations from among the sailors of warships, submarines and auxiliary ships” to Ukraine, the report said.
Because of this insubordination, he was fired and sent on vacation – he will later be transferred to a diplomatic backroom in Moscow.
Officials last week gave several reasons for the firing of one of Russia’s most respected commanders, who had commanded the Pacific Fleet for more than a decade.
Leaks suggested it was due to “unsatisfactory state of fleet preparation” and “numerous command errors.”
The “admiral’s dissatisfaction grew” as the magnitude of the losses increased, it was claimed
From left to right – Vladimir Putin, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Commander of the Pacific Fleet Admiral Sergei Avakyants pictured in 2016 in Russia’s Far East
Another version of the story was that he had reached mandatory retirement age, but it was announced that he would take charge of military training and patriotic education.
“Pacific Fleet Commander Sergei Avakyants has reached retirement age [65 years] and was sent to a well-earned rest with respect,” said a Defense Ministry source.
Avakyants is already 66, and age is usually not a barrier in Russia: Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu is 67 and Supreme Commander Vladimir Putin is 70, while the head of the FSB secret service Alexander Bortnikov is 71.
Another version of the story was that he had reached mandatory retirement age
The true story appears to be Avakyant’s refusal to send his Pacific Fleet troops to more deaths in Ukraine.
An emotional video highlights the graves in Vladivostok of numerous Marines under his command who were killed after being sent to Ukraine.
Volya said Avakyants’ successor, Admiral Viktor Liina, was promoted after he fulfilled his troop quota for the war when he was in charge of the Baltic Fleet.
“Liina just sent as many people as he was assigned,” says a military source.
Avakyants’ tried with everyone [his] maybe take from these instructions.
Liina, on the other hand, did as she was commanded.
“For this he received the admiral’s epaulettes in December, which he had long dreamed of.”
His move to the Pacific Fleet was announced last week.