Russian military appoints new Southern District commander amid rumors of ‘systematic deception’ by predecessor

Russia’s Defense Ministry has reportedly appointed Lieutenant General Alexander Sanchik to command its Southern Military District. Sanchik replaces Colonel General Gennady Anashkin, whose removal was rumored days earlier. The military has not commented officially on the change in command. The 58-year-old Sanchik previously served as the commander of Russia’s Eastern Military District.

Sources told the news outlet RBC that the personnel move is part of a “planned rotation” and emphasized that the Defense Ministry isn’t punishing Anashkin. However, some pro-invasion bloggers, like Yuri Podolyaka, have claimed that the colonel general lost his position for “systematically deceiving Russia’s military and political leadership” about events on the battlefield. For example, Podolyaka wrote on his blog that Anashkin reported fictitious victories near Siversk, outside Bakhmut.

Since the start of the invasion, Alexander Sanchik has also drawn criticism from commentators like Podolyaka. Bloggers point to Sanchik’s allegedly “incompetent” command of the Eastern Military District’s 35th Combined Arms Army, which suffered heavy losses outside Izyum. He reportedly ordered soldiers into battle without the necessary equipment or communication tools, and some men said they lacked even shovels to dig trenches.

Soldiers in Russia’s Southern Military District are currently fighting in the Donetsk region and advancing on Kurakhove, a key point of Ukrainian defenses in the area. In recent days, the battle has reached the city’s outskirts.