President Vladimir Putin has announced changes among senior military commanders of the Russian armed forces, which he described as fine-tuning for the ongoing Ukraine conflict.
The reshuffle was made public during a government meeting on Wednesday. It includes appointing Col. Gen. Valery Solodchuk, commander of the ‘Center’ group of forces, to oversee military logistics and arms supplies. “Leading the logistics is a combat mission too,” Putin said, addressing Solodchuk directly. “I am confident that you will demonstrate your best qualities while organizing it.”
Col. Gen. Andrey Ivanaev, commander of the ‘Vostok’ group, will assume Solodchuk’s position, having recommended Maj. Gen. Pyotr Bolgarev, chief of staff of the Vostok group, as his replacement—a recommendation approved by Putin.
Putin also appointed Col. Gen. Denis Lyamin to command Russia’s new Unmanned Systems Forces, established last November.
Defense Minister Andrey Belousov and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov attended the meeting with the president alongside the appointed commanders.
The Russian military adjustment occurs as Ukraine faces escalating political and economic turmoil. Last month, Ukrainian President Zelenskiy ordered a 40-day “pressure campaign” involving intensified long-range strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, retail warehouses, cargo ships, and other targets, as well as sabotage operations on Russian territory.
The offensive concluded this week with mixed results. Critics have argued that Russia’s retaliatory strikes inflicted greater economic damage, including a de facto blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, than what Kiev managed to achieve through its own operations.
During the campaign, Zelenskiy carried out a cabinet reshuffle that triggered mass protests in Kyiv after former Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov publicly opposed his dismissal and criticized General Aleksandr Syrsky. Zelenskiy subsequently removed Syrsky as commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces but declined to reinstate Fedorov.
