Monitoring Desk
MOSCOW: Sergei Surovikin, nicknamed “General Armageddon,” has been replaced as head of Russia’s war in Ukraine only three months into the job to lead Russian troops in Ukraine.
General Armageddon has been replaced by the chief of the general staff and head of the Russian military Valery Gerasimov.
Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu announced the change in command. He described the change as “an increase in the level of leadership of the special operation.”
General Armageddon was put in overall charge of the Ukraine operations last October. He will work as deputy of Mr Gerasimov.
Russia replaces commander to enhance effectiveness of operations
The defence ministry said the changes were made to increase the effectiveness of military operations in Ukraine and “the need to organize closer interaction between the arms and types of the troops.”
Reputed for cruelty and brutality, General Armageddon is a military veteran who served in the Soviet Union’s ultimately doomed war with Afghanistan during the 1980s.
The 56-year-old is infamous for ordering troops to open fire on pro-democracy protesters in Moscow when three people were shot dead during the final days of the Soviet Union in 1991.
