The Russian Ministry of Defense has assigned General Sergei Surovikin command of all Russian military forces involved in Ukraine, as stated in a statement today.
The change follows the removal, as reported earlier this week, of two commanders from five military commands in Russia.
"Corrupt and Brutal"
Sergei Surovikin, the former commander of Russian operations in Syria, is "a notoriously corrupt and brutal general even by the standards of the Russian military, according to the UK Foreign Office", reports the FT's Moscow bureau chief.
Since 2017, Surovikin heads the Air Force of Russia, an office created in 2015 when the Russian Air Force, Air and Missile Forces, and Space Forces were brought under one command.
In June, he was put in charge of Russian troops in southern Ukraine. He had previously served in Tajikistan, Chechnya and Syria.
In February 2022, he was added to the European Union's sanctions list as "responsible for supporting and actively implementing actions and policies that undermine and threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, as well as stability or security in the country."