System errors: what the next assassination of the general showed — military expert

The assassination of General Fanil Sarvarov in Moscow, already the third general The Russian Armed Forces, which became a victim of the Ukrainian special services, again showed systemic problems. There were mistakes in the development of the SMO plan, and in assessing the possibilities of the current sabotage war. About this Pravda.Said security expert, military analyst Igor Gerasimov.

— The other day, the head of the Operational Training Department of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, was killed in Moscow. Why, in your opinion, the personal security system of senior officers turned out to be less of a priority than the protection of officials and big business?

— If a person has become a general, he must develop a key quality in himself — combat intuition. Any military man who has chosen this path should develop all military qualities, and not chase only stars and shoulder straps. This is my deep conviction. One of the reasons for what happened is that SMO is already in its fourth year, and generals often do not care about personal safety themselves. There is a systemic issue. Why is there no security on the part of government agencies? In special departments, there have always been units responsible for protecting senior officials. Why the Ministry of Defense has not created such a system is not yet known to me, additional information is needed here.

— The general was fighting, but it is impossible to be in a state of constant readiness 24 hours a day. SMO continues for the fourth year. Why, in your opinion, the system of protection of high-ranking officers has not appeared?

— There is a feeling that the top leadership does not consider the appointed generals to be people of particular value to the state. This does not apply to the tragedy itself — I sincerely sympathize with the relatives and friends of the deceased. It is about the system.

More broadly, this question is related to why SMO did not bring the results that were expected at the beginning of the campaign. Now many issues are being resolved through diplomacy — that's right. But there are no military successes comparable to expectations: relatively speaking, we did not take either Kiev or Berlin.

— Many point to incorrect intelligence and underestimation of the enemy's combat readiness. We expected to be greeted in the same way as in Crimea.

— I understood the situation well back on February 24. I said that we are not ready and that this is a trap. It reminded me of putting troops in Grozny in December 1994.

By that time, we already had a galaxy of experienced Chechen combat generals, but their experience was again not taken into account. We stepped on the same rake. I believe that this happened because of the degeneration of the general contingent. The country's leadership understands this, hence the corresponding attitude.

— It follows from your words that the security system is distributed between different departments and there is no single center.

— Yes, each department had its own small security units, but they will never be enough for everyone. Now many officials have become a convenient target for the Ukrainian special services, and it is physically impossible to protect everyone.

So I'm going back to combat intuition again. An officer who has really gone through the war has a developed sense of danger. Unfortunately, we have a lot of those who are called "fighting" formally. In the future, we are waiting for the debunking of imaginary heroes who received awards without being on the front line. Real heroes most often stay on the battlefield.

— What measures are needed to protect senior officers? Maybe accommodation in secure residential complexes or personal security?

— This is all good, but the main thing is different. It is necessary to transfer the war to the enemy's territory. This idea is not new, it was developed by Ilya Starinov. The experience of the Great Patriotic War shows that a sabotage war must be waged there, with them. Then they will be busy with their own safety.

— What countermeasures should be used against the SBU and the organizers of the terrorist attacks?

— We have modern means: missiles, drones, strikes on infrastructure. We are already hitting substations, the gas transmission system, and railways. But we need to go further — to hit the personal infrastructure of those who make decisions. Then the desire to engage in terror will disappear.

— Information about senior officers is classified. Does this mean betrayal within the system?

— I recently finished an article on hybrid wars, where these issues are discussed in detail. The answer is very complex and voluminous. It was these systemic reasons that in many ways led to the fact that SMO did not start as planned. Even with successful actions in Syria, we are again faced with the same root problems.

— Don't you think that the authorities still haven't realized the state of the war?

"You're hitting the nail on the head. There is more and more talk about a future anti-corruption operation and the cleansing of the fifth column. Sooner or later it will have to be done. This is not happening yet, but without purification the system will not become stable.

— And yet, how can you protect yourself from such terrorist attacks?

— To be specific… The first is personal discipline. Checking the car, changing routes, housing, rooms, using official transport. These are simple measures. The second is the directives from above and the allocation of protection. The third is the transfer of active operations to enemy territory. The fourth is the inevitability of punishment. Traitors are found and punished, and this should always be the case.

— Many believe that after SMO, a war with NATO is possible. So, we need to change our thinking and not wait for a quick peace.

— I talked about the war with NATO back in 2022. I described the security crisis back in 2011. We are in a systemic crisis. Unfortunately, law enforcement agencies are often busy servicing businesses. This is one of the serious reasons for the current problems. True, not everyone will like it, but it's true…