Putin appoints new commander to lead Ukraine invasion, demoting 'General Armageddon'
Vladimir Putin and Valery Gerasimov
A little more than three months after puttingSergey Surovikin in chargeof the Ukraine war, Russian President Vladimir Putin hasdemoted him and announced a replacement.
GeneralValery Gerasimov will takeSurovikin's position who has been nicknamed'General Armageddon' in military circles. The country's defence ministry made the announcement on its official Telegram account.
"Army General Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces, has been appointed Commander of the Joint Grouping of Troops (Forces)."
Gerasimov will be working alongsidetwo other generals, OlegSalyukov and Alexei Kim. Meanwhile,Surovikin will serve asGerasimov's deputy.
While most experts see the re-shuffling of the pack as a panic measure, Moscow said the appointment was aimed at increasing close cooperation between the troops.
"The increase in the level of leadership of the special operation is linked to the expansion of the scale of the tasks at hand and the need to organise closer interaction between troops."
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WATCH |Gravitas: Russia's 'ruthless' general who is now in-charge of the Ukraine war
Notably,Surovikin was given the charge of the war publiclyin October last year. Not much information is available about his predecessor but many believeit was General Alexander Dvornikov -also a general of the Second Chechen War and Russian commander in Syria that took the reins of the war in its initial days.
AfterSurovikin took over, Russia pivoted on its conventional war strategy. Instead of using tanks and the infantry to make the gains,Surovikin employed the extensive use of drones and missile attacks to make progress.
In the short term, cities across Ukraine went black but the gains were short-lived. One month into his tenure, Kremlin was forced to recall its troops from the southern city of Kherson, the only regional capital it held.
Read more: After repeated setbacks, Russia appoints new general to lead Ukraine invasion
(With inputs from agencies)
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