By Isabel van Brugen and Yevgeny Kuklychev
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Russian army chief Valery Gerasimov was conspicuously absent from an emergency Security Council meeting held by President Vladimir Putin on Friday, raising further questions as he faces mounting criticism over Ukraine's surprise incursion into the western Kursk region.
Gerasimov, 68, is reported to be under fire after seemingly dismissing intelligence warnings that Kyiv's forces were preparing to launch an armored assault into Kursk, which borders Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region. Bloomberg, citing an unnamed source close to the Kremlin, reported Thursday that Kremlin officials are frustrated with his handling of the war.
Similar accusatory reports regarding Gerasimov were circulating on Russian Telegram channels this week, as Ukrainian troops advanced deeper inside the Kursk region.
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Gerasimov's absence at the meeting of Putin's top allies was picked up by multiple individuals, including Anton Gerashchenko, a former adviser to Ukraine's minister of internal affairs, who said on X (formerly Twitter): "No Gerasimov this time. No mentioning Kursk region."
"Observe who is here [at the Security Council meeting] and who is not," said the pro-Kremlin Telegram channel Politjoystic.
An official meeting agenda, published on the Kremlin's website and included in the Telegram post, featured Russia's top security apparatus officials—including former defense minister Sergei Shoigu and Putin's chief security advisor Nikolay Patrushev—but no Gerasimov.
Russia's Chief of General Staff was present at another meeting just a day earlier, delivering an update on the situation in Kursk, where Ukrainian forces had taken control of several villages in recent days.
Some observers, including the pro-Ukraine Euromaidan Press publication, drew attention to Putin's body language in the briefing, as Gerasimov vowed to push Ukrainian forces "back to the border" within days.
It is not the first time since the Ukraine invasion was launched that Gerasimov's fate becomes subject of fervent speculation.
He disappeared from public view for several days in January 2024, sparking speculation that he had been fired or even killed in a Ukraine strike.
While the rumors eventually proved to be false, as he returned to carrying out his duties later that month, speculation about his fate continued to simmer in the Russian press and social media.
The arrest of Gerasimov's top deputy reignited the rumors in May 2024, and the firing of Russia's Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, who was moved to a security council position amid a defense industry purge, added further fuel to the speculative narrative.
Bloomberg's report earlier this month, claiming that Gerasimov weeks earlier had dismissed intelligence warnings of a potential surprise attack on Kursk, noted that the army chief was "unlikely to be removed in the short term," but claimed, citing a source, that "patience in the Kremlin over his handling of the war was running out."
Similar sentiments were voiced by prominent and influential military bloggers and analysts in Russia, including Rybar, a pro-Moscow OSINT Telegram channel followed by millions.
Rybar noted the apparent lack of response from the Russia's military command in a post titled "Kursk direction: who is to blame and what to do."
"Amid the euphoria, no attention was paid to reports from the Kursk tactical direction and the North group of forces about problems, about the enemy pulling up forces and preparing to strike with the aim of cutting off Belgorod from the north," the channel wrote.
While Rybar does not mention Gerasimov by name, some interpreted the statement as an oblique dig at the top general, who has been in charge of the North group since January 2023.
The VChK-OGPU Telegram channel, which is widely believed to have ties to Russian security agencies, reported on Thursday, citing a source in the Russian military, that Gerasimov was warned about the Kursk threat two weeks prior by deputy commander of the Leningrad Military District, Lieutenant General Esedulla Abachev.
"Gerasimov urged Abachev 'not to stir up panic' and 'not to fall for the enemy's disinformation.'" the post said.
"In addition, on the eve of the offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Gerasimov withdrew troops and resources from this area that, in his opinion, were not needed there," it added.
Newsweek is unable to independently corroborate the claims made in the Bloomberg article and on Telegram. As of Friday there has been no official announcement about General Gerasimov's status as head of the Russian army.
Newsweek has reached out to the Russian defense ministry for comment via email.
Update 08/09/24, 9:45 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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