[12] Interested in the army from a young age, Gerasimov grew up on the stories of his veteran uncle, a former tank company commander, and avidly read the books of Konstantin Simonov.

Graduating with honors in 1987, he was posted to the Baltic Military District, serving as chief of staff of and then commanding the 228th Tank Regiment of the 144th Guards Motor Rifle Division.

After the dismissal of Anatoly Serdyukov as defense minister, his successor Sergei Shoigu nominated Gerasimov to be the next Chief of the General Staff, replacing Nikolay Makarov.

[11] The author of the original paper, Mark Galeotti, claimed it was a speech which, due to translation errors, was misinterpreted in the American press as a belligerent, rather than defensive strategic proposal.

[5][19][20][21] Other changes were the dismissal of Alexander Sukhorukov from the position of First Deputy Defence Minister and his replacement by Colonel General Arkady Bakhin, formerly commander of the Western Military District.

[5][19][20][21] According to the Security Service of Ukraine, Gerasimov was the general commander of all elements of Russian forces and the pro-Russian insurgents during their decisive strategic victory in the Battle of Ilovaisk in 2014, where over 459 Ukrainian military personnel were killed and another 478 were injured.

The Ukrainian armed forces are touting that they have started to employ US-supplied Javelin anti-tank missile systems in Donbas and are also using Turkish reconnaissance/strike drones.

Other senior siloviki (key Russian security officials), including Sergei Shoigu, Igor Kostyukov and Alexander Bortnikov, disappeared around the same time.

[34] According to British author and policy analyst Anatol Lieven, "Not only did Shoigu and Gerasimov plan and conduct the invasion of Ukraine with monstrous incompetence, recklessness and indifference to civilian deaths and suffering, but since they have both held their present positions since 2012, they bear direct personal responsibility for the logistical chaos, lack of coordination, and generally lamentable condition of the Russian armed forces.

[42] On 11 January 2023, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu appointed Gerasimov in place of Sergey Surovikin as overall commander of war against Ukraine.

[44] The UK Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence update that Gerasimov has been "attempting to clamp down on non-regulation uniform, travel in civilian vehicles, the use of mobile phones, and non-standard haircuts.

The Russian force continues to endure operational deadlock and heavy casualties; Gerasimov's prioritization of largely minor regulations is likely to confirm the fears of his many skeptics in Russia.

[49] On 8 July, milblogger Rybar reported that Gerasimov was replaced by Mikhail Teplinsky in command of the troops in Ukraine while remaining chief of the general staff.

[50] In July 2023, Major General Ivan Popov claimed that Gerasimov dismissed him because of his concerns about troops fighting without rest and criticism of Russian battlefield strategy.

This came after the arrest of Timur Ivanov shortly before the fifth inauguration of Vladimir Putin on 7 May and consequent shuffle of Shoigu, causing Newsweek to speculate on a purge in the military.

[55] On 25 June 2024, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Gerasimov, on charges of alleged war crimes for missile strikes against Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

[56][57] According to NATO and Western military officials, about 1,200 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded in Ukraine every day on average in May and June 2024, mainly due to the use of Soviet tactics of human wave attacks.

[67] In April 2014, Gerasimov was added to the list of persons against whom the European Union introduced sanctions "in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine".