Air defense veteran Khatylev appreciated the appointment of General Afzalov as commander-in-chief of the Aerospace Forces

Passed all combat positions from the very bottom

Recently, Colonel General Viktor Afzalov became the new commander-in-chief of the Aerospace Forces (VKS) of Russia, replacing Army General Sergei Surovikin in this post. The position of Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces has recently caused a lot of gossip in the media due to various gossip related to the fate and career of the “Armageddon General” – Surovikin. All this time, Viktor Afzalov with the prefix “acting.” actually served as commander-in-chief of the Aerospace Forces. And now he has “come out of the shadows.” Commenting on Afzalov’s appointment to MK, the ex-chief of the anti-aircraft missile forces of the Special Forces Command, reserve colonel Sergei Khatylev, called this decision of the leadership correct and logical.

Quite little is known about General Afzalov. There is no information about the new commander-in-chief on the official website of the Ministry of Defense. They say that he is a rather private person and does not like to appear in the media, does not give interviews about himself, and does not have an account on social networks. According to official sources, Viktor Musavirovich Afzalov was born on June 9, 1968, although his place of birth is not indicated.

As for General Afzalov’s army promotion, almost all MK’s military sources spoke with emphatic respect for his career growth, immediately noting that he did not receive “through connections” through positions, rising sequentially from one service level to another, as befits a military leader in the army.

After graduating from the Pushkin Higher Military School of Air Defense Radioelectronics near St. Petersburg in 1989, Viktor Afzalov began his service as the head of the crew of the combat control department of a group of anti-aircraft missile divisions of the Air Defense Corps. He then held various staff and command positions, including the position of commander of the Air Force and Air Defense Army in the Eastern Military District in Khabarovsk.

In 2000 he graduated from the Smolensk Military Air Defense University, and in 2010 from the General Staff Academy. And, by the way, as MK’s military sources especially emphasize, it was previously believed that there could be no question of an appointment to a high position at the Main Headquarters of the Air Force and Air Defense in Moscow for an airborne personnel officer if he had not served in Khabarovsk. Afzalov in August 2018 was appointed chief of the General Staff of the Aerospace Forces – first deputy commander-in-chief of the Aerospace Forces – just after commanding the Air Force and Air Defense Army in Khabarovsk.

Viktor Afzalov was awarded the rank of Colonel General in 2022. Since August 2023, he served as acting commander-in-chief of the Aerospace Forces. He directly reported on the affairs of the Aerospace Forces to the Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov. And now Afzalov finally lost the “acting” prefix.

“I consider the appointment of Colonel General Afzalov as Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces to be absolutely logical,” air defense veteran Sergei Khatylev told MK. “He led the Aerospace Forces for almost the entire last year, while Army General Surovikin served as deputy commander of the group in the Northern Military District zone. With the departure of Surovikin, nothing has changed for Afzalov in this regard.

According to Khatylev, such an appointment is “much more logical, correct and natural” than the previous personnel decision.

“Still, with all due respect to Surovikin, he was a real land general,” says Khatylev. – And Afzalov is a specialist who has been involved in air defense issues all his life, including during a special military operation. The headquarters know little about Afzalov’s personal qualities, says the expert, but, as far as I’ve heard, his colleagues have good reviews of him. He, as befits an officer and general, went through all the positions in succession – from crew chief to regiment commander, division commander, army commander… This always evokes respect among the troops. Therefore, his current appointment does not raise any questions.