Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces, important in the war against Ukraine, General Sergey Surovikinaccording to the media, is two months after the uprising of the Wagner mercenary group been removed from office. The ex-editor-in-chief of the dissolved liberal radio station Echo Moskvy, Alexei Venediktov, writes on his Telegram channel, citing an official decree, that Surovikin will be deposed, but will remain under the disposal of the Ministry of Defense. The decree itself is not initially published, but several nationalist Russian military blogs also report on Surovikin’s replacement.
From October 2022 to January 2023, Surovikin was the supreme commander of Russian units in Ukraine. In the fall, he ordered the occupation troops to withdraw from the southern Ukrainian city of Cherson. At the same time, Surovikin was considered one of the most important allies of mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in the regular Russian army in his power struggle with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov. Although Surovikin publicly condemned the uprising of Prigozhin’s Wagner troupe at the end of June, according to political observers he was subsequently sidelined