Peskov forwarded the question of the appointment of Gerasimov to the Ministry of Defense

Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov, when asked by Vedomosti how the Kremlin views the appointment of the head of the General Staff, General of the Army Valery Gerasimov, as commander of the Joint Group of Forces and why this was done, replied that “this is a question for the Ministry of Defense.”

January 11 Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu appointed Gerasimov as commander of the United Group of Forces. In this position, the head of the General Staff replaced the commander-in-chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces, General of the Army Sergei Surovikin, who has now become Gerasimov’s deputy. In addition to Surovikin, Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces General of the Army Oleg Salyukov and Deputy Chief of the General Staff Colonel General Alexei Kim were also appointed as deputies.

Surovikin served as commander of the NWO for three months. Shoigu appointed his commander of the Joint Group of Forces on October 8, 2022. As explained in the Ministry of Defense, personnel changes are associated with the expansion of the scale of tasks being solved during the NWO.

Russia’s special operation in Ukraine began on February 24, 2022. President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin called the protection of the inhabitants of Donbass, as well as the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, its goals. During the special operation, Russian troops took full control of the LPR, as well as most of the DPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions. Subsequently, these territories became part of Russia, and on October 19 martial law was introduced in the regions.

Earlier today Peskov noted positive dynamics in the implementation of SVO. Thus, he responded to the request of journalists to comment on the information about the release of Soledar in the DPR. At the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation on January 11 reportedthat Russian troops blocked the city from the north and south. At the same time, the acting head of the DPR Denis Pushilin declaredthat on the night of January 11, Soledar came under the control of the Russian Federation.