Russian Lt. Gen. Sukhrab Akhmedov has reportedly been dismissed following extensive soldier losses amid failed offensives in and false reports of successes, reports the Kyiv Post.
Akhmedov’s strategy relied on relentless frontal assaults, often described as a “meat grinder,” that drove Russian troops into well-defended Ukrainian positions and led to severe casualties.
At Vuhledar in 2023, 300 Russian soldiers died or were severely injured in less than 24 hours under Akhmedov’s leadership after Ukrainian Armed Forces eventually attacked the group with a HIMARS missile.
“The Vladivostok Marine Corps is completely destroyed,” former British Defense Minister Ben Wallace said after the incident.
Marines from the 155th Brigade in an open letter to the governor of Primorsky Krai, Oleg Kozhemyako, in November 2022 accused the command of organizing “meat assaults” near Pavlivka on the Vuhledar axis.
“As a result of this ‘carefully’ planned offensive by ‘big boss commanders,’ we have lost about 300 men killed, wounded, and missing in four days. Fifty percent of our equipment. That’s just our brigade. The district command, along with Akhmedov, is concealing this and using the official (falsified) loss figures for fear of responsibility,” the letter said.
“How long will incompetents… continue to plan military operations for the sake of their reports and awards at the cost of the lives of so many people? They don’t care about anything, they just want to show off. For them, soldiers are nothing but meat,” it added.
Reports from soldiers and war correspondents described the situation in Pavlivka as a "fire bag" or "meat grinder," with high losses and a lack of proper reconnaissance or equipment.
A prosecutor’s review was ordered, but no violations were found and soon after, Akhmedov was appointed commander of the 20th Army of the Western Military District and later received a general’s rank.
In 2025, he was awarded the title “Hero of Russia."