Gen. Valery Gerasimov will take over from Sergei Surovikin, the country’s Defense Ministry said on Telegram Wednesday, a change that comes as the Kremlin’s forces appeared close to a breakthrough in bitter fighting on the eastern front lines.
The announcement came just three months after Surovikin became the first person to be handed sole charge of the campaign since Russia launched its invasion on Feb. 24.
The ministry said he would now serve as one of Gerasimov’s three deputies, along with Army Gen. Oleg Salyukov and Col. Gen. Alexey Kim.
[In one sense, it’s surprising that Surovikin lasted as long as he did. One of the first major actions he took as the top commander of Russian forces in Ukraine was to retreat from Kherson. That saved Russia’s best units in the field, but it cost them connections to Crimea and a huge loss of face with the ultranationalists and ethnic-Russian militias in the Donbas. — Ed]
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