Russian Army General Staff Chief Valery Gerasimov replaces Sergey Surovikin as Russia’s top commander in Ukraine

Valery Gerasimov, the head of the Russian Army's General Staff, has been named the new commander of Russia’s forces in Ukraine, RIA Novosti reported on Wednesday, citing the Russian Defense Ministry.

Sergey Surovikin, who previously held the position, will reportedly now serve as Gerasimov’s deputy. Oleg Salyukov, the head of Russia’s Ground Forces, and Alexey Kim, the deputy chief of the General Staff, will also serve as deputies to Gerasimov.

In a statement, the Russian Defense Ministry said that “upgrade of the special [military] operation’s leadership” is a response to the increase in scale of the tasks the Russian military seeks to solve, as well as to the need for closer cooperation between various military branches.