Shoigu Appoints Gerasimov Instead Of Surovikin As Commander Of Occupation Forces In Ukraine

The Russian occupying army changed the commander of the troops in Ukraine. Valery Gerasimov, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, became the new commander, and General Sergey Surovikin was demoted to his deputy. This was reported by the Telegram channel of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation on Wednesday, January 11.

Surovikin served as the commander of the occupation forces in Ukraine since October 2022. With his appearance, Russian propaganda and the society of the aggressor country hoped for a "significant turning point" in the war against Ukraine, and praised their "hero" in all directions. But three months later, the "executioner of Aleppo", as Surovikin was nicknamed for the merciless bombing of the Syrian city, lost his leadership position.

The Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Sergei Shoigu, appointed Chief of the General Staff Gerasimov as the commander of the occupation forces in Ukraine, and Surovikin became Gerasimov's deputy from now on.

We will remind that in late December 2022, the mercenaries of Wagner's PMC addressed Gerasimov in an offensive manner and criticized him for the failures near Bakhmut of the Donetsk Region. The owner of the PMC Yevgeny Prigozhin confirmed that the appeal is genuine.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on November 3, Russia appointed a new acting commander of the Center group of Russian troops in the war against Ukraine. Major General Alexander Linkov became a new acting commander.

On October 8, 2022, it became known that the Ministry of Defense of Russia appointed Sergey Surovikin as the new commander of the group of the Russian occupation army in Ukraine.

In December 2022, the Russian occupation army changed the commander of the troops of the Western Military District. General Yevgeny Nikiforov became the fourth commander since the beginning of Russia's war against Ukraine.