Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu appointed a new commander of the Joint Group of Forces in Ukraine, Chief of the General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov. According to the Ministry of Defense, the former commander, General Sergei Surovikin, has been appointed his deputy.
General Oleg Salyukov, Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces, and Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Colonel General Alexei Kim.
The Ministry of Defense said in a statement that “the increase in the level of leadership of the Special Military Operation is associated with the expansion of the scale of tasks solved in the course of its implementation,” as well as with the need for closer interaction between the branches and branches of the troops and increasing the effectiveness of leadership.
Surovikin has led the Joint Group of Forces in Ukraine since October 8.