Russia's Defense Ministry on Wednesday appointed Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov to serve as commander of the combined forces group currently attacking Ukraine in what Moscow calls a "special military operation."

He is replacing Sergey Surovikin, who has been in the position only since last October. Surovikin is to remain as Gerasimov's deputy, the ministry said.

Rapid turnover

Gerasimov is the fourth commander Moscow has appointed to its Ukraine mission since launching the war almost 11 months ago.

The rapid turnover appears to reflect the Kremlin's dissatisfaction with multiple setbacks on the battlefield and failure to secure victory in a campaign that the Kremlin had expected to be over in a matter of weeks. Moscow is now installing its most senior military officer in the role.

The Defense Ministry, for its part, said that the move came in response to an enlargement of the scope of the "operation."

"The increase in the level of leadership of the special operation is linked to the expansion of the scale of the tasks at hand and the need to organize closer interaction between troops," the ministry said.

Who is Gerasimov?

Valery Gerasimov, 67, has been chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces since his appointment to the position in 2015 by President Vladimir Putin.

Gerasimov is seen as one of the main figures involved in planning for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24.

He has been placed on sanctions lists by various entities and countries, including the European Union, the US, Switzerland and Australia, because of Russian interference in Ukraine since 2014.

Gerasimov, like Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, has come under criticism from Russian pro-war bloggers for the lack of battlefield success had by Moscow's troops in Ukraine.

His appointment comes as Russian troops are fighting a long and bloody battle in the east of Ukraine around Bakhmut and Soledar.

The situation in the two towns remained unclear on Wednesday, though the Russian mercenary group Wagner claimed to have taken Soledar under its control.

tj/msh (Reuters, AFP)