Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian army, appears to have ignored intelligence warnings that Ukraine’s Armed Forces were gathering near the border of Kursk Oblast, Bloomberg reported on Aug. 8, citing a source close to the Kremlin.
Ukrainian forces crossed the border into Kursk Oblast on Aug. 6, resulting in clashes on Russian soil.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed on Aug. 8 that its forces were fighting Ukrainian troops in two districts near the border with Ukraine.
Gerasimov and top officials “seemingly dismissed intelligence warnings that Ukrainian soldiers were gathering near the border with Russia’s western Kursk region as much as two weeks before they began the assault,” Bloomberg said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was also not briefed on the troop buildup, the unnamed source reportedly told Bloomberg.
The source indicated that “while Gerasimov is unlikely to be removed in the short…
