AP Photo/Natasha Pisarenko
General Sergei Surovikin – better known as “General Armageddon” – will not command Moscow’s forces in Ukraine as the Russian defense minister has announced for his replacement.
Sergei Shoigu announced that the commander of the Russian forces in the so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine will be headed by the Chief of the General Staff of National Defense Valery Gerasimov.
Surovkin will remain Gerasimov’s deputy and seems to be “paying” for a series of humiliating failures on the battlefields,
The Ministry of Defense stated in a related press release that the appointment of General Gerasimov aims to enhance the effectiveness of military operations in Ukraine, about ten months after Russia launched its attack on its neighboring country.
Gerasimov was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces and Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation in November 2012 by decree of President Vladimir Putin and at the suggestion of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, thus becoming a member of the Security Council.
Both Gerasimov and Shoigu have come under fire from military analysts over the failures of Russian forces in Ukraine, in a campaign the Kremlin believes will soon end.
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